Many Suspected Killed in Heavy Firing between Illegal Sand Mining Gangs
Illegal Sand Mining in Bihta
Illegal sand mining at Amanabad banks of Sone river at Bihta in Bihar led to bloody show off between groups of mafia on 29 September.
A team of CPIML MLAs Sandip Saurav and Gopal Ravidas visited the site of firing the next day. Bihar mining minister Ramanand Singh also visited the spot. Villagers at told the CPIML team that the illegal sand mining is going on unhindered for a very long time at a land situated between the river. More than 200 acres of land that were allotted to 103 Mahadalit families by the Bihar government had been taken away by the mafia for illegal mining. Now sand mining activities is destroying farmers’ lands and their agricultural potential.
The government’s policy framework and negligence and connivance of police and mining officials has emboldened the mining mafia to the extant that resulted in a heavy battle between warring groups leading to many deaths. As per the eye witness accounts the exact number of people killed could not be ascertained because the mafia have burried many dead bodies under the sand with the help of earth-mover machines.
The farmers of the area earlier had reported illegal mining destroying their agricultural lands to the Patna Rural Superintendent of Police but he turned a blind eye towards the complaints.
The CPIML team also met with the family members of some of those killed in the firing incident. Shatrughan Yadav, 55, of Naga Tola and Laldev Rai, 45 of Bhudhar tola were killed but the news of their deaths reached their families only through newspapers. The family members are yet to find their bodies. They allege that many bodies have been buried in the sand. CPIML MLA Sandip Saurav had asked SSP Patna and DSP Danapur to immediately search for the missing bodies and hand them over to their families.
CPIML will raise this matter with the state chief minister. The party has demanded to find out all the missing dead bodies, to adopt a strict legal framework to nab the mafia by identifying the middlemen traders of this illegal business as well as those corrupt officials directly involved with the mafia. The Party has also demanded compensation to the farmers and dalit families whose lands have been eroded due to illegal mining.
