Sand mafia allegedly tried to kill the tahsildar of Alangudi when he tried to intercept illegal sand-laden vehicles, officials said here on Sunday.Later, the driver of a tractor was arrested and the vehicle seized.
According to sources, K Govindarajan, tahsildar of Alangudi and other revenue authorities were conducting vehicle checks at Keelathur near Alangudi following a tip-off when they tried to intercept two tractors loaded with sand.
The drivers of the tractors did stop their vehicles and moved ahead, knocking down tahsildar Govindarajan on the road. Subsequently, the revenue authorities chased and seized the tractor, which knocked down the tahsildar. The other vehicle managed to escape.
Later, the revenue authorities handed over the tractor and its driver to Alangudi Police. The accused was identified as Marimuthu (22), who was mining sand from Karumeni tank at Othapatti near Keezhathur in Alangudi taluk.