Goa: 16 arrested for illegal mining

Goa police have arrested 16 people for illegal iron ore mining.

Six persons were arrested at Morlem village, 40 km from Panaji, on Saturday, and 12 more were arrested yesterday.

Police Inspector Siddhanth Shirodkar said the ore was stored at Cotombi, a village on the banks of Mandovi river, from where it was exported by ships.

Officials said the plot where the iron ore was being mined illegally had been given to the some locals after their villages got inundated in floods.

Kamlesh Bandekar, an activist of Bharat Swabhiman Trust of Baba Ramdev, had complained to the police in this regard.

Several trucks ferrying the ore, driven by migrants from Jharkhand and Bihar, were confiscated during the police action. The plot owner too was arrested, police said.

Leader of Opposition Pratapsingh Rane, who represents the area in the Assembly, demanded in the house today that the company which bought this ore needed to be investigated.