Rajnandgaon: Members of a sand mafia allegedly assaulted three villagers after they opposed illegal sand mining in Chhattisgarh’s Rajnandgaon district, police said on Thursday, June 12.
The accused also allegedly opened fire in the air before escaping from the spot in two cars on Wednesday night, they said.
A local corporator, and the driver of an earth mover machine engaged in illegal mining were arrested, the police said.
The incident took place the previous night in Mohad village under Basantpur police station limits when some smugglers were allegedly retrieving sand from the Shivnath river using an earth mover, a police official here said.
Some men from the village, where a celebration was being held during Sant Kabir Jayanti on Wednesday, raised objections and opposed the illegal mining, he said.
Following an argument, members of the sand mafia assaulted three men with sticks, the official said.
After learning about the incident, other villagers rushed to the spot.
On sensing villagers charging towards them, the accused escaped in two cars and one of them fired two-three rounds with a gun, the offiical said.
No one was injured in the firing, he added.
Villagers managed to catch the excavator machine driver and surrounded local corporator Sanjay Rajak, who was also present there, accusing him of being involved in illegal sand mining, the official said.
A police team reached the spot after being alerted and the injured villagers were shifted to hospital for medication, he said.
A case has been registered and the corporator and the excavator machine driver have been arrested based on the villagers’ complaint. The earth mover machine and a truck have been seized, the official said.
Efforts were on to trace the sand mafia members who escaped in two cars, one having the registration number of Madhya Pradesh, he added.
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