KOCHI: Following a raid in the wee hours of Friday, police busted two groups from Aluva and Maliankara during illegal mining of sand from the Periyar river. Seven persons were arrested, and extracted sand and equipment were seized from them.
Following a tip-off, Aluva police conducted a search at Manari Junction near Aluva, on the banks of the Periyar river, and arrested three persons – Noushad, Mansoor and Rafeek – who were engaged in mining of river sand. In the second incident, Vadakkekara police arrested four persons – Anil, Krishnankutty, Anson and Sajeeshkumar – during a search in the Maliankara area. Sand from a boat and equipment used for sand extraction were recovered.
The cases were registered under the Kerala Protection of River Banks and Regulation of Removal of Sand Act.