Sand miners held near Mumbai

In a major crackdown against sand mining, the police arrested 14 illegal sand miners and seized two boats along the coast in the far western suburbs of Mumbai.

The Vasai Gaon police station in Palghar district is investigating the matter.

It is to be mentioned here that the security along the coast in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region remains tight in the wake of New Year festivities.

The 14 accused, all of them from West Bengal, are Abil Shaikh (25),Shafigul (27), Ahajit (33), Moinuddin (45), Shahiful(27), Mondal (28), J Mullah (40), Islam (35), B Shaikh (22), Shoful (27), N Mullah(45), Rafigul (19), Pinal (38) and Ibrahim Shaikh (25).

The owners of the boats used are said to be from the Vasai taluka and a manhunt has been launched to get them to book.

On Saturday, a Coast Guard Hovercraft H-194 had apprehended two wooden boats engaged in illegal sand mining off Panju island.

The apprehended boats were not in possession of a valid registration number and valid permit for mining.

Even the apprehended crew were also not in possession of any identification documents, biometric cards and all claimed to be from Murshidabad, West Bengal.

There was no communication equipment on board and the two boats were fully laden with sand.

On Sunday, the accused were produced before a court in Vasai which remanded them to a police custody for a day.