In a major blow to the illegal sand mining syndicate, the Haryana Police and the Mining Department executed a daring midnight raid on the Yamuna riverbed, resulting in the seizure of heavy machinery worth crores.
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The Operation: Acting on a tip-off from a drone surveillance unit, a joint task force launched a surprise “blackout raid” around 1:00 AM. To maintain the element of surprise, the police teams used private vehicles and avoided using sirens or headlights until they reached the extraction point.
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The Seizure: The raid resulted in the impounding of three high-capacity Poclain machines (heavy excavators) that were actively being used to dig deep into the riverbed, well beyond the permitted environmental limits. The operators and several truck drivers managed to flee into the dense fog and high reeds of the riverbed as soon as the police arrived.
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The Modus Operandi: Officials noted that the mining mafia has been increasingly using high-tech machinery under the cover of night to evade daytime patrols. These machines can load a 10-wheeler truck in less than five minutes, causing significant ecological damage to the river’s natural flow in a very short time.
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Legal Action: The seized machines have been transported to the local police station and handed over to the Mining Department. FIRs have been registered against the machine owners and the unidentified operators under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act and various sections of the BNS.
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Official Warning: “This raid is part of our ‘Zero Tolerance’ policy toward illegal mining. We have identified the owners of these machines via their chassis numbers and they will face heavy fines and potential imprisonment,” said a senior official overseeing the operation.
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Environmental Impact: Environmentalists have long warned that illegal deep-digging in the Yamuna weakens the embankments, increasing the risk of floods in nearby villages during the monsoon season.
