Chandigarh: The state government on Friday cracked down on the illegal mining mafia in Punjab’s Ropar city. Rakesh Chaudhary, who has been running illegal mining nexus for the past several years, has been arrested by the police.
The accused has been running a sand mining racket at the behest of political masters for the past several years, officials said.
During the raid some sand tippers have also been caught in large numbers. According to sources, the arrested accused is a close aide of former Chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi.
Cabinet Minister Harjot Singh Bains termed it a biggest ever Crack down on Illegal Mining Mafia and said, “In a major crackdown on Illegal Mining Mafia, Ropar Police has arrested Kingpin of illegal mining during last many years Rakesh Chaudhry on complaint of Mining Department.”
CCTV to be installed on the mining quarries
CM Bhagwant Singh Mann said that CCTV cameras will be installed on the mining sites and drones will also be used to prevent the practice of illegal mining in Punjab.