Punjab: Despite complaints, Ropar police is taking a soft stand on the accused of illegal mining

Punjab: According to available documents, on at least three occasions since April till now, the Ropar police have either failed to register complaints or named any person in cases of illegal mining, despite mining department officials identifying the accused. These complaints were registered after raids were conducted at several places along the Sutlej river. However, Ropar SSP Gulneet Singh Khurana said the matter was not in his knowledge. The SSP assured that he would investigate the matter and take appropriate action if anyone was found guilty. Deputy Commissioner Varjit Singh Walia did not respond to repeated phone calls for comment. Meanwhile, a senior official of the department hinted at the involvement of senior police officials in some of the cases.
“Despite risking their lives by conducting raids to check illegal mining at night, the police did not register an FIR,” the official said. Earlier too, in a report published in the same column on July 20, The Tribune had highlighted that a case was registered with a delay of a month in a similar incident in Bhaangla village of Nangal. According to the documents, the mining department had lodged a police complaint after the officials raided the Motia Stone Crusher located in Agampur village of Anandpur Sahib on July 13. The raid was led by the SDM of Anandpur Sahib. The complaint said that those present at the stone crusher could not produce any papers to show from where the material was extracted. The officials sought registration of a case under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.
However, no FIR has been lodged yet. The SSP said that no FIR has been registered in the case as the complaint was sent back to the mining department with some queries. In another case on the same day, a place was raided in Algran village of Nangal. The raiding team accused the owners of Aman Crushing Plant of illegal mining. However, the quantity of mined material could not be ascertained as the raid was conducted in the dark of night. The mining officials sought registration of a case against the accused under the same Act. Despite the mining officials naming the accused in their complaint, the police filed an FIR against unidentified persons the next day. On April 30, a mining department team led by the SDM of Nangal detected illegal mining on the banks of the Sutlej river at night. The police registered a case in the matter on June 4, more than a month later. However, the FIR was filed against unidentified persons.