AMRITSAR: Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Monday said a case of treason should be registered against those found guilty of indulging in illegal sand mining in the border areas of the state as it jeopardises national security.
Purohit, who was on a tour to the border villages of the state, addressed Sarpanchas (village heads) of the border villages and other prominent people of the district.
He said illegal mining in border areas is a threat to the security of the country.
He instructed the officials to keep a hawk eye over illegal mining near the border and opined that along with other charges, a case of treason should also be registered against those guilty of mining in the areas that jeopardize national security.
"The security of the country is paramount and no negligence will be tolerated," he asserted.
"There are reports of the existence of police-criminal nexus in some border areas and in the interest of the country this alliance needs to be broken effectively," he said.
His remark came days after the Border Security Force (BSF) had told the Punjab and Haryana high court that mining activity in the border areas with Pakistan was being carried out round-the-clock.
Besides affecting the course of river Ravi, it was posing a huge threat to the security of the international border fence, the BSF had said.
Governor Purohit while addressing Sarpanchas said Punjab being a border state is very important from the point of view of security.
"We need to be more vigilant to thwart any attempts towards disrupting peace and tranquillity of Punjab and the country," he stated.
The BSF and other security agencies are working diligently to stop the smuggling of drugs and arms across the border but the common people should also be vigilant along with security agencies to foil the nefarious designs of the enemy.
They should promptly report suspicious activity, if any and should especially be extra vigilant of the air dropping of contraband via drones from across the zero line, he said.
The governor suggested forming the citizens defense committees in the border villages like the initiative taken up in district Gurdaspur.
He said with the vigilance of the defence committees, anti-social and anti-national elements can be identified and apprehended.
He said he would suggest the state government to form citizen security committees in the six districts of the border region to assist in village security and to work on social issues in their respective areas.
In order to eliminate unemployment in the border region, the governor urged the youth to take maximum advantage of the army's 'Agnipath' scheme.
Later, the governor held a detailed discussion with the officials of administration, police, BSF, RAW, army and other agencies working for the security of the country in the border areas.