Illegal sand mining on Nethravathi riverbank in Belthangady; one arrested

Belthangady: Belthangady Police have arrested a man allegedly involved in illegal sand mining and transportation from the banks of the Nethravathi River at Indabettu village in Belthangady taluk.

Acting on reliable information about sand being mined illegally in the area, police raided the Bolloorubail area of Nethravathi Nagar early Tuesday morning. The police reportedly found a group of people extracting sand from the riverbank without permission.

Most of the people at the spot managed to escape after seeing the police. However, one person was taken into custody.

The arrested person has been identified as Mohammad Suhail, who was allegedly driving one of the tippers being used to transport the sand.

During the investigation, Suhail reportedly gave police the names of two other persons who are currently absconding. They have been identified as Ibrahim, the driver of another tipper, and Puneeth, who was allegedly loading sand into the vehicles.

Police said Suhail also reportedly admitted that the group did not have official permission to carry out sand mining at the site.

The police seized two tippers and the sand being transported.

One of the seized vehicles, bearing registration number KA-19 AA-2286, is valued at around Rs 3.5 lakh and was carrying sand worth approximately Rs 10,000.

The second tipper, bearing registration number KA-18 B-1236, was found with around 20 plastic baskets of sand valued at approximately Rs 400. The vehicle is estimated to be worth around Rs 4 lakh.

The total value of the two seized tippers is around Rs 7.5 lakh, apart from the sand.

Belthangady Police have registered a case and launched a further investigation to trace the absconding suspects and ascertain the full extent of the illegal sand mining operation.