Dubiously obtained mining leases, unpaid fines running into crores, fake transit passes and overloaded dumpers are routinely overlooked in a rush to meet Delhi-NCR’s construction needs.
On 19 July, Surendra Singh received a tip-off about illegal mining in Haryana’s Pachgaon village. Bordering eastern Rajasthan, the village falls in the Aravalli region, home to several mines and quarries.
Soon, the 59-year-old deputy superintendent of police, along with his team, was chasing a dumper truck laden with illegally mined stone, The Hindu reported. He managed to catch up with the vehicle. As Singh was walking up to the truck, he was run over by its driver and died on the spot, a police spokesperson told the newspaper.
Singh’s killing once again focused public attention on illegal mining rampant …
Devendra is an independent journalist based in Rajasthan covering issues related to caste, politics, governance, hate crime, religion, minorities and environmental crime. His bylines have appeared in The Caravan, Al Jazeera, Article 14 and Fifty Two, among others.
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