Sand mafia ambushes Odisha Police, release seized tractor at knifepoint

Sand mafia struck fear once again in Nilagiri region of Balasore district on Thursday after a violent confrontation with police that involved knives, threats, and an audacious hijacking of a seized tractor.

Also Read: Odisha officials attacked by sand mafia in Balasore, probe on

According to police sources, while transporting an illegally mined sand-laden tractor to the Ajodhya police outpost, a group of 25 sand mafia members ambushed the police team. One constable from the anti-patrolling response (APR) unit was allegedly held at knifepoint, as the gang forcefully took control of the vehicle and fled.

The mafia pushed officers off the moving vehicle midway and escaped with the tractor. The entire episode has exposed the growing brazenness of sand mafias operating in the region.

Junior mining officer (JMO) of Nilgiri Jitendra Das reported the incident at Ajodhya outpost, stating this was not the first attack. Just days ago, he too was physically assaulted by mafia members during a raid on illegal mining operations.

Despite increasing enforcement, sand mafias continue to act with impunity, raising serious questions about law and order in the region.

“We were on an enforcement duty today and had left for Nilagiri from Balasore in the wee hours. We seized a tipper near Mitrapur locality under Remuna police limits and handed over the vehicle to local police. Later, we also caught a sand-laden Hyva truck in Nilagiri and handed over the vehicle to Nilagiri police,” the mining officer said to OTV.

“Nilagiri IIC tipped us off about an ongoing work in the locality. After reaching the spot, we saw that about 8-10 labourers were loading sand mixed soil from the riverbank on a tractor near Purunagaon. Immediately, we seized the tractor,” the mining officer stated.

“We had moved around five kilometres when we were intercepted,” the JMO added.