Invoke Goondas Act against sand smugglers, sand miners: activists
A group of environmental activists on Thursday urged the State government to arrest all those arrested recently for illegal sand mining from the Cauvery be detained under the Goondas Act.
In a memorandum addressed to Karur District Collector M. Thangavel, the activists said that a special team formed by Tiruchi (Range) Deputy Inspector-General of Police Varun Kumar had arrested 10 persons and seized 26 tipper lorries, three cars, one laptop, and four seals with the State government emblem, a trip sheet, a large number of holograms and ₹2.26 lakh cash at Manmangalam for illegal mining and transporting the sand with forged documents, thereby suggesting that the illegal sand miners had run a parallel government. It had brought to light that they had indulged in large-scale sand mining, worth several crores, for so long by making fake government emblems, documents and seals, they said.
R.S. Mugilan, coordinator, Tamil Nadu Environmental Protection Movement, who along with other activists presented a petition to the district authorities, said that within a few days after the arrest and seizure of vehicles, the accused again started to indulge in sand mining from the Cauvery, thereby suggesting that no policemen, including the DIG, could not stop their illegal activities. It should be stopped and the offenders should be detained under the Tamil Nadu Prevention of Dangerous Activities Act (Goondas Act), he added.
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