Illegal mining: UP STF busts extortion racket; 2 arrested, mining officer booked

Kanpur (UP), Nov 12 (PTI) In a crackdown on an illegal mining racket, Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) on Wednesday busted an organised extortion racket that allegedly facilitated the passage of overloaded trucks through the Fatehpur route in exchange for hefty bribes, police said.

Acting on a tip-off, the STF Lucknow unit exposed a network of officials and touts allegedly collecting money from sand and other material-laden trucks plying through Fatehpur’s Asothar route, they said.

An FIR has been registered at Thariaon police station against six accused, including an unidentified district mining officer, his gunner Raju, the driver of an RTO (road transport officer) official, identified as Bablu Patel alias Shyamu, and two others — Dhirendra Singh (25) and Mukesh Tiwari — besides truck driver Vikram Singh.

According to STF Inspector Deepak Singh’s complaint, the syndicate used to extort around Rs 5,000 per truck transporting illegal mining material from Banda district.

The STF has arrested Dhirendra Singh and Vikram Singh, both residents of Fatehpur, and seized an overloaded truck laden with sand used in the operation.

“During interrogation, accused Dhirendra Singh confessed that the group systematically extorted money from overloaded trucks with sand and other such material passing through Fatehpur,” Inspector Singh said, adding that initial findings point to departmental collusion involving mining and transport officials.

Preliminary evidence indicates that the racket operated by “fixing” routes and timings with certain officials to ensure smooth movement of overloaded trucks.

A case has been registered under Section 303(2) (abetment and criminal conspiracy leading to illegal acts) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with Sections 4 and 21 of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, which prohibit unlicensed mining and penalise illegal transportation.

Provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act — Sections 7(A) (public servants taking undue advantage) and 12 (abetment of corruption) — have also been invoked.

Thariaon Station House Officer Rajendra Singh confirmed that the FIR has been lodged, adding that further investigation is underway to identify and arrest the remaining accused. PTI COR ABN ABN AMJ AMJ