Illegal mining: Two officials, contractor booked

Patiala, October 9

The district police have booked two officials of the Mining Department and a contractor for allegedly causing loss to the exchequer. They have been booked under Section 21 of the Mines and Mineral Act.

The accused have been identified as Nishant Garg (sub-divisional officer-cum-assistant district mining officer), Kamaljeet Singh (mining inspector-cum-junior engineer), and Naresh Kumar (contractor).

The police said they had received a complaint that illegal mining was carried out near Dhablan village. During investigation, it was found that an average 1.74m deep field was dug against permitted 1m. Besides, no record of transport of the sand was found with them. — TNS