Sand Mafia sparks official Standoff

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

The sand mafia is increasingly defying legal boundaries, with a shocking incident on Thursday night exposing the growing audacity of illegal sand transporters. At around 10 pm near Police Mess in Hudco, revenue officials, including Tehsildar Ramesh Mundlod, were obstructed and verbally abused while attempting to seize a truck involved in illegal sand transportation. In the chaos, the seized truck was taken away by the sand mafia.

Adding to the controversy, when Tehsildar Mundlod approached the Jinsi police station to file a complaint, the police, instead of registering the case, seized his official vehicle. However, they failed to track down the missing truck. This incident has brought to light the strained relations between the police and the revenue department. The situation has raised questions was the revenue department's action flawed, or was the police’s decision to seize the tehsildar’s vehicle unjustified?

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Confrontation at Vijay Chowk

The dramatic incident began when Tehsildar Mundlod and his team intercepted a truck carrying illegal sand at Vijay Chowk. As the officers attempted to transport the seized vehicle to the tehsil office, a man named Dada Pawar confronted them and stopped the tehsildar’s car. Soon, a large crowd gathered, leading to heated arguments between the mob and the revenue officers. Meanwhile, instead of cooperating, the police refused to register the tehsildar’s complaint and instead impounded his official vehicle. On Friday, Mundlod submitted a detailed report to District Collector Dileep Swami, who was unaware of the incident until receiving the report.

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Allegations against revenue officials

The truck owner, Dada Pawar, has alleged that the vehicle was empty and accused Tehsildar Mundlod of overstepping his jurisdiction by taking action in the city despite being a rural officer. He further claimed that Mundlod and his team had consumed alcohol on February 6 before conducting the operation, suggesting that they should undergo a medical test.

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What happened on Thursday Night?

Tehsildar Mundlod was on his way home around 10 pm when he spotted a truck transporting sand illegally near Vijay Chowk. The truck lacked a number plate, and the driver failed to provide royalty receipts. When the officers seized the truck and attempted to take it to the tehsil office, the driver suddenly changed direction near the police mess, attempting to escape. Mundlod and his team chased the truck and managed to stop it, but the sand mafia surrounded the officials, verbally abused them, and created a ruckus. Amid the commotion, the driver fled with the truck. When the tehsildar reached Jinsi police station to lodge a complaint, the police allegedly did not cooperate. Instead of taking action against the sand mafia, they seized the tehsildar’s official vehicle, further escalating tensions between the two departments.

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Officials Speak Out

"The police did not cooperate in the case of the stolen truck. Instead, they seized my official vehicle for an inspection. I have reported the matter to the District Collector."--------------------- Ramesh Mundlod, Tehsildar

"Seizing a tehsildar’s official vehicle is a serious matter. I have discussed this with the Deputy Commissioner of Police and instructed immediate action against the responsible officers. A written report will also be sent to the Director General of Police and the Police Commissioner."------------------ Dileep Swami, District Collector