Hoshiarpur: 14 impersonate mining officials, held for extortion

Our Correspondent

Hoshiarpur, March 29

The police have busted an interstate gang of extortionists who allegedly impersonated officials of the Mining Department and extorted money from truck drivers transporting sand or gravel.

In all, 14 persons have been arrested. Around Rs 1 crore, forged receipts, three vehicles, laptops, computers and a note-counting machine were seized from them.

The accused reportedly told the police that under the pretext of cracking down on illegal mining, they accosted truck and tipper drivers on deserted roads at night. Under the guise of mining officials, the accused extorted money from drivers. The gang was active in Punjab and HP. —

#illegal mining