Sand mining mafia open fire at police

The Asian Age.  | Rabindra Nath Choudhury

India, All India

The sand mafias, however, identified them when they zeroed in the area and opened indiscriminate fire on them.

A group of sand mining mafias on Tuesday open fired on a team of policemen and forest officers when the latter launched operation against them in riverbank city of Morena in Madhya Pradesh. (Photo: AFP/Representational)

Bhopal: A group of sand mining mafias on Tuesday open fired on a team of policemen and forest officers when the latter launched operation against them in riverbank city of Morena in Madhya Pradesh. According to Morena district additional superintendent of police (ASP) Ashutosh Bogri, around 100 policemen and forest officers raided the bank of Chambal river in Morena following intelligence inputs on illegal sand mining in the area by the sand mafias. The policemen and forest officers chose to travel in dumpers to the spot to avoid the attention of the sand mafias, thus denying them to escape. The sand mafias, however, identified them when they zeroed in the area and opened indiscriminate fire on them. The police also resorted to retaliatory fire leading to a brief exchange of fire between them. No one was however injured in the incident. Later, police arrested six sand mafias and seized a dozen dumpers and tractor trolleys used to transport sand illegally.

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