Daijiworld Media Network – Kundapur

Kundapur, Feb 11: In a major crackdown on illegal sand mining, the police raided a site near the Kandlur bridge on the Varahi river in the early hours of Tuesday, February 10, and arrested 11 persons.

The arrested individuals have been identified as the site supervisor Ajmal and labourers Ramashankar Rajbir (35), Ram Kumar (40), Govinda Chaudhary (26), Shivamuni (32), Junna Rajbir (35), Satyadeva (30), Kamalesh Nishad (35), Santosh Nishad (23), Om Prakash Rajbhar (34), and Ramesh Rajbhar (35).

During the operation, the police seized four boats valued at Rs 3 lac and approximately three and a half units of sand worth Rs 4,500.

According to police sources, the owner of the sand dock, Sunil Shetty, and supervisor Ajmal, were allegedly directing their workers to extract and transport sand illegally by crossing the designated 'Geo-fencing' boundaries, in violation of official regulations.

Acting on credible information, the Kundapur police conducted the raid and took the accused into custody. A case has been registered at the Kundapur rural police station, and further investigations are underway.