SHIMLA: A subdivisional magistrate was attacked by a mining mafia near Mandi town in Himachal Pradesh late Monday. The incident has left SDM (Mandi) Om Kant Thakur, a 2019-batch IAS officer, with a broken tooth.
One person has been arrested in this connection so far, police said.
A district official said the SDM was in his vehicle when he noticed from afar that illegal sand mining was being carried out on the banks of the Beas. As soon as he saw this, he left his official vehicle on the highway in Brindabani and walked up to the Beas. No sooner did he start inquiring that he was surrounded by three people, who attacked him. They fled the spot soon after, the official said.
The official further said Thakur’s driver came running when he saw that a scuffle had broken out. Thakur was not accompanied by any policeman at the time of the incident. His driver took him to the govt hospital in Mandi. A number of district officials, including deputy commissioner Apoorv Devgan, visited the hospital on hearing about the incident. Thakur was discharged Monday night.
A case has been registered with Mandi police station. A police officer said one of the accused has been arrested, and search is on for the others.
BJP state chief Rajeev Bindal blamed the ruling Congress govt for the mining mafia in Himachal Pradesh. Bindal, in a statement, said it was shocking that the Mandi SDM was attacked while inspecting illegal sand mining. Calling it an unfortunate incident, he said it shows the non-seriousness of the Congress govt in curbing illegal mining activities. He named Baddi Barotiwala, Una, Mandi and Kangra as some of the places where illegal mining is rampant.
Despite a ban, illegal sand mining continues unabated in the Beas, especially from the Pandoh to Mandi stretch of the river.