50 tractors seized with illegally extracted minerals in HP

Cracking down on mining mafia active in the border areas of Himachal Pradesh, police today seized 50 tractors loaded with sand and gravel, illegally extracted from the river bed.
The minerals were extracted from the riverbeds of Yamuna, Giri and Bata in Paonta Sahib area, they said.
A fine of Rs 2.25 lakh was recovered from the owners of the 30 tractors while the remaining ones were impounded as their drivers fled from the scene leaving their vehicles on the river beds, DSP, Paonta Sahib, Narvir Singh Rathore told PTI.
He said that the Paonta police and local administration has launched a campaign against the mining mafia in the area which had yielded positive results.

An amount of over Rs 12 lakh has been collected as fine besides registering criminal cases against a number of persons involved in illegal mining activities during the past three months, the DSP added.