10 held, 33 trucks seized in crackdown on illegal mining

Alwar: At least 10 persons were arrested and 33 trucks were seized by Alwar police in a raid on illegal mining on Sunday. In the past, several raids on illegal mining in Kherthal area had been unsuccessful due to leaking of information of the proposed raids to the miners. In a novel drive, police formed two teams, each comprising 100 cops, to swoop down on the mining mafia.A team of 100 disguised policemen in pick-up trucks were sent to the illegal mining area near a village in Kherthal. When they were attacked, another team of nearly 100 policemen surrounded the miners and retaliated. Ten miners were arrested while 33 tractor trolleys were seized. For the first time in the recent past such a large number of vehicles were seized by the police.
In the operation, policemen in plainclothes were sent to the illegal mines hidden in the back of pick-up trucks covered with tarpaulin. Another team including DSP Parmal Singh, five SHOs and 100 policemen lay waiting behind the hills to swoop down on the miners.

However, the miners got a wind of the raid and launched an attack. They started pelting stones on the cops who arrived in trucks. The cops went on a backfoot for a while, in the meantime the other team comprising of DSP, five SHOs and 100 policemen surrounded the miners and retaliated.
Police started seizing the tractor trolleys. Many people involved in illegal mining fled from the spot, but police managed to arrest 10 of them. Alwar SP Kailash Bishnoi said the police conducted the raid following a tip-off that nearly 100 tractor trolleys carrying illegally mined stones were leaving the Kherthal area.