In Jamui, Bihar, sand mafia rammed a tractor full of sand on a police team, in which an inspector died in an accidental incident. Many policemen are injured in this incident, the condition of one of them is said to be critical. This incident is not the first. Earlier, a policeman working as a home guard was also killed by running over a car. In the month of April, a female officer who had gone to investigate illegal excavation was dragged and beaten. Obviously, the murders of policemen and officers one after the other are raising questions on the dwarfism of the police administration and seeing the increasing morale of the sand mafias going unchecked, now the opposition has also become an attacker. In such a situation, the question arises that why there is failure in reducing the morale of these attackers and why Bihar Police and organized crime related to sand are becoming stronger instead of weakening.
Has sand turned into yellow gold?
Construction work has increased rapidly all over the world. Therefore, every year the world needs 5 billion tons of sand and pebbles for construction purposes. Earlier this work was done by small laborers, but with the increase in demand, the bidding for sand has increased and efforts to establish a strong hold on mining and occupation of the ghats have intensified. The government in Bihar also considers it a source of profit. Therefore, licenses for sand mining are distributed through auction. Obviously, apart from big money and hair, strongmen have also been involved in this work. In Bihar, the sand of Son River is considered best for construction work and the reason for this is said to be the low amount of clay in it. Therefore, apart from Bihar, sand of Son River is also sold in nearby states.
26 people have lost their lives since 2017
There are about 550 sand ghats in Bihar, where auctions are being conducted by the government for the last decade. Sand mining is prohibited during monsoon, but in backward areas the process of sand mining continues and it is sold at good prices. However, not only in Bihar, illegal excavation of sand takes place in other parts of India also. Therefore, many people have lost their lives in this exercise. According to statistics, in the year 2017, 26 people, including policemen and journalists, lost their lives due to the prevention of illegal mining.
2439 people were arrested
In Bihar, the Mining Department has registered about 4450 cases regarding illegal business in the year 2022-23, in which cases ranging from mining to storage have been registered. 2439 people have also been arrested in this exercise. Therefore, in recent times, there has been a fierce conflict in Bihar between the people associated with illegal business and the team monitoring the mining.
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Why are administrative officers vulnerable to crime?
In the month of April this year, a female mining officer’s team was attacked and a female officer was dragged and beaten in the presence of 25 government personnel. The number of people investigating was around 50 but the story of audacity of people involved in illegal mining is hair-raising. Today i.e. on 14th November, a Inspector was killed by running over a tractor in Jamui, while on 1st November in Aurangabad, the incident of killing a Home Guard jawan by running over a police vehicle is an indication of the high morale of the mining mafia.
Incidents taking place between two groups regarding supremacy
The issue of beating of a female officer had become so serious that the National Commission for Women took it into cognizance and complained strongly to the DGP of Bihar. This incident also took place at Son Ghat of Bihta police station, where the sand is considered to be the best and is sent to other states and sold. Such cases are seen more in Bhojpur, Rohtas, Saran, Vaishali and Patna of Bihar. Incidents of gang war over illegal mining are also common in Bhojpur district, where incidents of murder keep happening between two groups for supremacy.
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A fine of Rs 300 crore was collected
In many areas, a group of people associated with mining has formed who are busy earning a lot of money from it. According to a data of the Ministry of Mining, till the year 2015, the construction industry was around 3 percent, which has increased to 6 percent in the year 2020. Obviously, this is the reason that in view of the increasing demands, the number of people occupying the ghats has increased. The Mining Department has collected a fine of Rs 300 crore last year to stop illegal business. But contractors or traders doing illegal business sell sand at rates many times higher than the government prices.
Administration failed to stop mafia?
In Bihar, sand and liquor are two such issues which have become a major source of illegal earning. The government has banned liquor, but through black money, many times the profit is earned by supplying it to people’s homes. Obviously, this is the reason why adulteration of spirit with wrong things in order to supply it as per the requirement has also become the reason for people taking their lives. This situation is giving birth to sand mafias in the desire of earning money in the river areas. Due to charging many times more than the government rate, the sand business has also taken the form of gold business. Because of this, the mafia is busy working in collusion with the administration in the pursuit of huge profits. Therefore, when an attempt is made to stop them, their increased morale encourages them to crush the officers coming in their way. Obviously, after such a big incident, a big question has arisen regarding law and order in Bihar in which after the murder of the police, the opposition parties have started putting the government in the dock.
