Jharkhand News : In a shocking incident highlighting the growing audacity of sand mafias, a Circle Officer (CO) was subjected to a life-threatening attack while conducting a raid against illegal sand mining in Jharkhand’s Lohardaga district. The incident took place under the Senha police station area, where the officer’s government vehicle was badly damaged, though he narrowly escaped unharmed.
According to official sources, CO Pankaj Kumar Bhagat had received confidential information about illegal sand extraction and dumping near the Noori Sarai bridge on the Murki–Senha road. Acting on the tip-off, he reached the spot along with his team to verify the information and take action.
As soon as the officials arrived at the site, a group of anti-social elements present at the illegal dumping yard began protesting and soon turned violent. Nearly 10 unidentified men and women allegedly attacked the CO and his team using sticks, shovels and stones. The attackers also smashed the windows of the official vehicle, causing significant damage.
The accused reportedly threatened the officer with false cases and took advantage of the chaos to unload the seized sand from a tractor, after which they fled from the scene with the vehicle.
Upon receiving information about the incident, police from Senha police station rushed to the spot. However, by the time the police arrived, all the attackers had escaped.
The incident has raised serious concerns over the safety of government officials engaged in action against illegal mining activities. Police have launched a search operation to identify and arrest those involved in the attack.
