Six wagon-loads of sand were seized during a raid from a railway yard in Odisha before it was illegally transported to Uttar Pradesh and other northern states, a railway police official said today.
The raid was conducted at Nirgundi station on the outskirts of the city yesterday after Tangi-Choudwar Tehsildar Abinash Rout got a tip-off on a private party stocking sand in bulk at the station.
"At least six wagons were loaded with sand and 50 empty wagons were stationed at the railway yard when we raided the place," the tehsildar said.
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The wagons were seized while the labourers escaped from the spot with their trucks, he said.
The Railway police today registered a case and started investigations into the illegal transportation of sand in railway wagons to outside the state.
"On the basis of a written report by the Tangi-Choudwar Tehsildar, a case has been registered under Section 21 (1) of Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation (Amendment) Act of 2015", Railway SP Sanjay said.
The FIR has been registered against a sand lease holder operating under nearby Baranga tehsil and a road transporter.
The sources however, did not rule out involvement of several others, including the railway staff in this connection.
The sand lifted from Kathjodi river here was meant to be transported to Uttar Pradesh and other northern states without valid permission from the competent authorities, the railway police said.
While a truck-load of sand fetches Rs 5000 in Odisha, it fetches Rs 15,000 in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
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