Goa: Seven held for illegal sand extraction from Terekhol river

Panaji, Oct 30 (PTI) The Goa police on Thursday arrested seven persons, including two canoe owners, for allegedly illegally extracting sand from the Terekhol river, days after two labourers associated with them were injured in firing, officials said.

The group was mining sand from the river in the Pernem taluka without valid permission, said Superintendent of Police (North) Rahul Gupta.

On the intervening night of October 27-28, unidentified persons opened fire on two labourers, identified as Ramrishi Paswan and Lalbabu God, belonging to this group during sand extraction.

The injured workers have been admitted to the Goa Medical College and Hospital in Bambolim.

More than 35 arms licence holders from the area have been questioned, while over 35 weapons have been checked by a Forensic Science Laboratory team to trace the firearm used in the attack, said officials.

The arrested persons in connection with the illegal sand extraction have been identified as local residents and canoe owners Robert Fernandes and Ashok Mulgaonkar, and migrant workers Sonelal Chaudhary, Munna Bin, Sonu Paswan, Vikas Bin and Yogendra Chaudhary.

“We are investigating the illegal sand extraction as well as the firing incident from all angles. Efforts are on to identify and nab the person responsible for the firing,” Gupta said. PTI RPS NR