Shimla, Aug 8

Sub-Divisional Magistrate Yunus Khan, a batch-mate of suspended IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal, had a narrow escape when a tractor-trailer tried to ram his official vehicle while he was checking illegal quarrying in Himachal Pradesh's Solan, police said Thursday.

"SDM Yunus Khan was there to check illegal mining along with other officials Wednesday. When he spotted two vehicles loaded with gravel, he signalled them to stop. But one of the vehicles accelerated towards his vehicle and tried to hit the vehicle," Superintendent of Police S. Arul told IANS.

"The driver of the vehicle Makhan Singh was arrested. A local court sent him on police remand till Aug 12," he said.

"We got reports of other incidents also where illegal mining is being carried out. We are investigating the matter. More will people will be booked once the investigation is over," Arul added.

Yunus Khan is a batch-mate of Nagpal, who was suspended by the Uttar Pradesh government. The suspension of Nagpal, who took on the sand mafia in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Budh Nagar district, had raised a public outcry. The state government maintains she was suspended for ordering the demolition of a mosque wall, and this could have led to communal tensions.

Himachal Pradesh's Director general of Police (DGP) Sanjay Kumar said a case has been registered for obstructing a government functionary from carrying out his duty.

"I have issued directions that the investigation shall be supervised by the superintendent of police concerned. We are looking into the angle of any sand mafia behind the incident," the DGP told IANS.

Officials said the SDM's vehicle overtook the fleeing tractor-trailer but instead of stopping, the tractor driver hit the SDM's vehicle.

"The tractor driver in a bid to flee from the spot first tried to crash the SDM's vehicle. Then later he tried to dump the gravel from the trailer on the official vehicle," an official said.

For the past few days, Khan had intensified the raids in the Nalagarh area in Solan district, bordering Punjab, to check illegal riverbed mining. 

This probably was the cause of retaliation against him when he visited the area at around 4.15 p.m. Wednesday, officials in the state mining department said.

Solan Deputy Commissioner Madan Chauhan said acting on a tip-off, the SDM reached the spot to check mining.

"When he was chasing some tractors, an attempt was made to hit his vehicle twice," he said.

Illegal mining in the hill state, say officials, is acute in areas adjoining Punjab.

Nalagarh area of Solan where the incident occurred is located close to the Punjab border.

Interestingly, the state cabinet, headed by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, approved a new policy Aug 1 to promote scientific mining of minerals in the state.

The policy allows the use of tyre-mounted excavators up to 80 horsepower for mining of sand on the riverbed where no heavy earth moving machinery will be allowed.

However, in case of mining on the hill slopes, where strata are rocky, the deployment of heavy machinery is permitted.

The opposition BJP has blamed the government for promoting sand mafia in the state.

"In border areas, sand mafia is flourishing and the government has not taken any steps to stop them," BJP MP Anurag Thakur said. 

By:IANS

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