RAIPUR: The Chhattisgarh Police has made four arrests in the sensational case of violence that took place between two rival factions involved in sand mining in the Korea district that left three people dead. The government has formed a special investigation team to probe the murder and arson case.
Additional SP Suresha Choube said, “The police have arrested four primary accused, all of them belonging to the same household. They include Manoj Tripathi, Akshat Tripathi, Vishal Tripathi and Satyaprakash Tripathi. Further raids are underway to capture the remaining five accused.”
The inter-gang violence took place on Tuesday night and involved long-standing rivalry between two groups about claiming dominance over illegal sand mining and supply chain in the black market. A 30-member mob had allegedly used a heavy dumper to hit an SUV before setting it ablaze with petrol.
A local BJP leader Bharat Singh alias Lalla Singh, 60, was one of the three dead. Singh was a former janpad panchayat president and was traveling with his brother Nagendra Singh, who also died in the violence, and their associates a Toyota Fortuner and a Skoda sedan.
According to investigators, a nephew of the Singh brothers had won a legitimate government contract for the Navgai sand ghat. As per the rules, sand extraction was strictly restricted to this designated zone. However, the rival Tripathi family had allegedly been bypassing legal channels entirely, operating illegal mining from unassigned zones nearby.
Friction intensified between the two families in the past few months, as the legal contractors started intercepting the vehicles of the Tripathis and levied operational containment tolls. A violent clash broke out between the two groups on Tuesday evening, leading to a police complaint.
Hoping to settle the matter, the Singh family travelled to Navgai village late at night to meet the rival Tripathis, but it was unaware that that it was driving into a trap allegedly laid by the Tripathis, which had gathered a mob and were ready with dumpers.
The attackers reportedly repeatedly rammed into the Singh brothers’ Toyota Fortuner. The impact jammed the SUV doors and trapped the occupants inside. The mob then poured petrol over the vehicle and set it on fire. The accused allegedly beat up occupants when they tried to escape by breaking window panes.
The police, however, has not yet confirmed willful intent in burning of the vehicles. Its forensic teams are conducting examination to ascertain whether the vehicle was deliberately set on fire.
Crime over dominance spat in illegal sand mining
The inter-gang violence took place on Tuesday night and involved long-standing rivalry between two groups about claiming dominance over illegal sand mining and supply chain in the black market. A mob had allegedly used a heavy dumper to hit an SUV before setting it ablaze.
