Surat | March 08, 2017: Industries and mines department of Gujarat government has registered two police complaints at Kamrej police station against six people of Amboli, Gala and Kathor villages of Surat district for theft of sand from Tapi riverbed and not paying up due fines. The accused were booked under IPC sections 379 and 114 and various sections of Gujarat Mineral (Prevention of Illegal Mining, Transportation and Storage) Act.
The first complaint has been registered against the husband-wife duo of Natu Vasava and Vijaya Vasava of Amboli who were caught by geologist D K Patel on October 10, 2016 doing illegal mining of sand from Tapi riverbed and taking it away in four trucks. They had mined 7,200 metric tonne of sand illegally in 10 days that month and hence were fined Rs 6,04,400. The duo did not pay the fine despite notices to them by the department.
The second complaint pertains to the raid of February 8, 2017 when the officials from the department seized four boats and six trucks with sand from Tapi riverbed at Gala Patiya village. The culprits had managed to take away four boats and two trucks. Truck and boat owners Soyab Sheikh, Imran Rahim Khan and Ketan Rathod of Gala village and Vinod Patel of Kathor village were fined Rs 6,09,840 for their alleged involvement in illegal sand mining by the department.
(Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/)