IAS officer and Mandi SDM who went to take action against illegal mining in Himachal’s Mandi were attacked by 4 mining mafias. They punched the officer on face. They also pelted stones at the officers.
The officer was admitted to the Civil Hospital on Monday night. He was discharged after treatment. Mandi’s Sadar police station took action and arrested one accused, while 3 accused are still absconding.
SDM Omkant Thakur reached the Vindravani area on the banks of the Beas River at around 7 pm on Monday evening to stop illegal mining. There people were filling sand from Beas river in vehicles. Seeing the SDM, some people who were mining ran away from there. A person named Hiralal and 3 other people started arguing with the SDM. It is alleged that Hiralal, under the influence of alcohol, first started making a video of the SDM.
After this, he along with others attacked the SDM. Some people tried to pelt stones at the SDM. Due to the presence of mind of the driver, he narrowly escaped. A person punched the SDM in the face, in which the SDM suffered injuries on his face. After the attack, all the accused fled from the spot. He was immediately taken to the hospital. There the doctors told that one of his teeth was broken.
Officials reached the hospital at night
As soon as the incident was reported, Mandi DC Apoorv Devgan, ADC Rohit Rathore, ADM Dr. Madan Kumar and ASP Sagar Chandra along with other senior officials reached the hospital. DC Apoorv Devgan said that strict action will be taken against the accused. He said that those involved in illegal mining will not be spared under any circumstances.