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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested two persons in an illegal mining case pertaining to the Beas River in Himachal Pradesh and the Yamuna River in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur, the agency said on Tuesday.
Gian Chand and Sanjay Dhiman were arrested on Monday and were produced before a special court in Ghaziabad earlier on Tuesday. ED had received formal complaints and intelligence inputs alleging illegal sand and mineral mining operations on the riverbed of the Beas River by several mining mafias, including Gian Chand and Proceeds of Crime (POC). To the tune of hundreds of crores, have been generated through these illegal mining operations. The agency initiated an investigation on the basis of six First Information Reports (FIRs) registered by different police stations in the districts of Kangra and Una in Himachal Pradesh relating to illegal mining. As per the FIRs, the ED said, it has been alleged that illegal mining activities are taking place on government land, and tippers, poclains, JCBs, and tractors are actively engaged in illegal mining in the Una and Kangra districts of Himachal Pradesh. "These vehicles were involved in illegally extracting minerals and consequently unlawfully transporting these minerals to stone crushers by overloaded vehicles," it stated. Another FIR dated November 1 has also been registered by Behat Police Station in Saharanpur against Gian Chand and others under sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984; and the Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act, 1957 (as amended), said the federal agency. "In order to conduct the comprehensive investigation, another FIR of UP Police has also been taken into the ambit of investigation in this case," ED said. During the course of the investigation, ED said, 12 searches have been conducted on the premises of several mining mafias, including Gian Chand and his associates in Himachal Pradesh and Saharanpur, and statements of several persons have been recorded. "On scrutiny of incriminating material seized, it is found that Gian Chand and his associates are involved in illegal mining operations ranging from the Beas River to the Yamuna River. POC generated from the illegal mining has been used in purchasing immovable properties and mining machinery like trucks, tippers, JCBs, crushers, etc.," added the agency. (ANI)
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