Punjab: Sixteen trucks carrying illegal mining material worth lakhs of rupees managed to escape from the custody of mining department officials, as police did not reach the spot to help the officials. The development has become the talk of the town and police is finding it difficult to defend itself. The trucks were plying without valid documents. They were trying to enter Punjab from Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday evening. Mining department officials SDO Sandeep Samyal and junior engineers (JEs) Amit Kapila, Sangamdeep Singh and Abhishek Atri had received information about their movement. Following this, they had set up a check-post near Kirrian village on Pathankot-Sunderchak road to seize the vehicles. The state loses revenue when trucks without documents enter the state without paying the respective fee. As per norms, a fine of Rs 2 lakh is imposed on each truck entering the state illegally from outside states. Mining officials said they stopped the trucks at 7.30 pm and police did not reach the spot until 1.30 pm. XEN Nitin Sood said that he immediately reached the spot after receiving a call from his colleagues.
He said, ‘We called several officers of Taragarh police station, but their mobile phones were switched off. After some time we called Deputy Commissioner Aditya Uppal, who sent some policemen from his staff to ensure that the truck drivers do not run away. Meanwhile, two SUVs (Scorpio) arrived, after which the people in them started misbehaving. There were at least 10 people in both the vehicles. Since we did not have police protection and we were less in number, all 16 trucks and SUVs fled.’ A case has been registered at Taragarh police station on the complaint of XEN Samyal. SSP Daljinder Singh Dhillon said that in such circumstances, the police should be informed in advance. He said, ‘Many times our force is busy in other work.’ XEN Sood said that the goons beat up his staff. Sood said, “We seized the trucks at 7.30 pm and for the next few hours we kept contacting the police. What more information should we have given? Meanwhile the miscreants brutally assaulted my employees.” The mining official said the trucks managed to escape due to police inaction. “Despite repeated requests the police did not come,” he said. SSP Dhillon said the police have got some clues, adding that the trucks would soon be seized and the culprits punished. Caption: The truck carrying mining material is in the custody of the mining department before it fled to Pathankot.
