Sand mafia tries to mow down three 'talathis' in Maha

Suspected sand mafia allegedly tried to kill three junior revenue officials by running over a tractor on them when they attempted to intercept it at Mankeshwar village in the east Maharashtra district.
The talathis (junior revenue officials) sustained injuries in the incident which occurred last night, whereas the driver of the tractor and his aides managed to escape from the spot, a Revenue official said here today.
The talathis were trying to intercept the tractor, suspected to be transporting illegally mined sand from Painganga river between Brahmangaon and Kopra at Mankeshwar village.
The injured are identified as Prakash Kanade, J J Khadelwal and S R Thorve who were part of the five-member squad formed to check the illegal activity in the area.

"On Sunday night, the squad received a tip-off about illegal mining of sand and they rushed to Mankeshwar and tried to stop the tractor in which sand was transported.
"However, the tractor driver did not stop and try to mow them down in which Kanade, Khadelwal and Thorve sustained injuries. After they raised an alarm, locals rushed to their help," said Umarkhed tehsildar S N Shejal.
Shejal said police have registered an offence against one Nayan Kuddhalwad (40), a resident of Brahmangaon village, under various sections of IPC and are looking for him.
Meanwhile, Yavatmal district president of the Talathi Sangatana, Gajanan Sureshe has alleged that the talathis were not provided with police protection when they went for the raid.