Dept told to register case on illegal quarrying

The Home department has sent a letter asking the Forest department to register a case with the local police station in Ramanagar district limits for proceeding with action against people involved in the illegal quarrying case in Kanakapura taluk.

Reacting to the report in Deccan Herald on the State government sitting over a CID probe sought into illegal quarrying, which appeared on Tuesday, Home Secretary (PCAS) Jyothiprakash Mirji said his department had dispatched the letter asking the Forest department to register a case, on August 6.

“We have already asked the Forest department to register a criminal case with the local police for us to proceed forward. If they do not do the needful, then the Home department cannot ask the CID to book the perpetrators. It will only be restricted to probe the matter and nothing more,” Mirji said.

He said once the Forest department files a case against one firm or person involved in the illegal quarrying, the other 142 cases can be attached to the same. Forest officials who are associated with the case insisted that their department is unaware of any such correspondence having arrived from the Home department.