Sand Mafia Bid to Kill Babus

PUDUKKOTTAI:  Tension prevailed in the district after a tahsildar and a Revenue Inspector (RI) narrowly escaped a bid on their lives by sand mafia, near Aranthangi.

The tahsildar and Revenue Inspector had been trying to curb the illegal mining and transportation of sand near Aranthangi.

Sources said based on a tip-off that sand was being illegally mined from Vennaru river bed in Avudaiyarkoil area and smuggled to the neighbouring districts to be sold in a clandestine market, tahsildar Ravichandran of Avudayarkoil and Revenue Inspector Pazhanisamy along with a team of  officials attached to Avudayarkoil taluk office, conducted a surprise raid at Sirukasavayal area on Saturday night.

During the raid, the team intercepted two tractors and verified the documents. The team found them transporting sand without valid permit from the concerned authorities.

As the officials were carrying out checks, one of the tractor drivers suddenly started his vehicle and attempted to run it over them. However, the tahsildar and Revenue Inspector had a narrow escape. Later, Ravichandran lodged a complaint with Avudaiyarkoil police.

Preliminary investigations by Avudaiyarkoil police revealed that the accused was one Ilaiyaraja, a native of Kasavayal. The police have launched a search for him in connection with the case. However, no case was registered.

It may be noted that Ravichandran is the second tahsildar to face an attack while on duty to curb sand smuggling. Earlier, tahsildar Kamatchi of Karambakudi faced a similar attack by sand mafia on January 2014.

Special Sub-Inspector of Mandaiyur police, Rajagopal, too came under a similar attack on August 2013, while VAO Suresh Kumar was attacked by sand mafia with deadly weapons when he was at his office in Karambakudi.

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