Two cases registered days after CM recommends strict action Coming down heavily on those indulging in illegal mining,the Mohali police registered two cases against seven persons for illegally lifting sand from the seasonal river bed and village common land in Nagglian village near Chandigarh on Wednesday. The development assumes significance as it comes two days after Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal asked Mohali SSP Gurpreet Singh Bhullar to act tough against those involved in illegal mining and encroaching upon government land. In the first case,the police have booked three persons Dilbagh Singh,Pardeep Singh of Togan village and Dalbeer Singh of Siamipur village for allegedly digging the river bed in Nagglian village and lifting the sand illegally. The case was lodged under Section 4(1) of the Mining and Mineral Regulation Act,1957,and Section 379 of the IPC on the complaint of the Mohali Mining Officer. In the second case,five persons Inderjeet Singh of Siamipur,Rana Jagdeep Singh of Mazri,Goldy of Fatwa,Chhindi of Ballomajra and Rinku were accused of digging and lifting sand from around 200 acres in Nagglian village. This case was lodged under Section 4(1) of the Mining and Mineral Regulation Act,1957,and Sections 379,506,148 and 149 of the IPC on the complaint of Pardeep Singh of Jind,who claimed to be the owner of the land. However,no arrests were made as yet. Since influential persons are believed to be involved or closely associated with the accused,the CM had told the district police chief not to allow the business to flourish at any cost and initiate stern action without budging under any pressure or influence from any quarter. Pertinently,three teenage boys had drowned in a 20-feet-deep pit dug up by illegal miners in the river bed of Ranimajra village near Chandigarh recently.
