SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, March 22: Rattled by rampant complaints of illegal coal trading, district administration launched massive raids on the roads and private coal depots on Monday night and seized 17 coal loaded trucks and 618.17 tons of coal.
Dhanbad Deputy commissioner Sandip Singh in an unprecedented move himself along with senior officials raided a coal depot in Kandra industrial area under Barbadda police station and recovered around 618.17 tons of coal. On the spot son of a former Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader was arrested.
DC ordered mining department officials to measure the quantity of coal recovered in Harsh Enterprises Hard Coke Factory.
Villagers informed the DC that before his raid coal was being loaded in 10 trucks. Getting prior information of raid, all trucks ran away from the spot and the owner of the depot locked the gate.
However, DC directed the Barbadda police station officer-in-charge to lodge FIR against the owner. The depot was allegedly functioning on the land of a former JMM leader.
In another raid conducted by city superintendent of police R Ramkumar, police seized 17 trucks loaded with illegal coal under Sudamdih police station and Alakdiha OP of Jharia on Monday night. All trucks were going towards Bengal.
City SP, who was monitoring the raids himself along with SDPO Sindri and senior police officials of different police stations caught three coal trucks in Parbad Ganesh Coal depot under Alakdih OP and 14 trucks under Sudamdih police station. The coal trucks were reportedly going towards Bengal.
Police officials said that this was the third-time trucks loaded with illegal coal have been seized in raids. Earlier on March 10 police had seized 5 trucks and 300 tons of coal while on March 4, police seized 18 trucks and 1000 tons of coal in Pathardih area.
