KASARAGOD: Kasaragod District Police Chief Vijaya Bharat Reddy has suspended six police personnel attached to the Kumbla police station after evidence surfaced of their nexus with the sand mafia operating in the region.
The SP said that the suspended personnel had been tipping off the sand mafia about the movement of the special squad, which conducts raids in plain clothes.
Among those suspended are Senior Civil Police Officers P M Abdul Salam, A K Vinod, and Linesh; Civil Police Officers A M Manu and M K Anoop; and police driver Krishnaprasad. Five of them are currently posted at the Kumbla station, while one has been transferred from there.
The estuaries along the Kasaragod coastline are notorious for illegal sand mining. The sand mafia operates mainly during night hours, using dinghies and labourers, mostly guest workers, to extract sand. Police teams regularly conduct raids to apprehend these sand smugglers. The SP said the district has special teams operating in plain clothes to crack down on illegal sand mining.
"The accused policemen were passing information about these raids to sand smugglers," he said.
Suspicion was first raised by a sub-inspector involved in one such operation, who believed the smugglers had prior knowledge of the raid. Further investigation revealed that a truck driver transporting sand illegally was in contact with some police personnel, as evidenced by data retrieved from his mobile phone.
Based on the findings, six police officers were placed under suspension. “A departmental enquiry has been ordered against them. Further action will be taken based on the enquiry. Meanwhile, we have tightened our operation against illegal sand mining in the district,” said the police chief.