42 Bihar sand mafias under EOW's lens

Patna, Feb 25 After action against police officials in Bihar, now 42 sand mafias of five districts have come under the scanner of the Economic Offences Wing (EOW).

An EOW official said that an FIR has already been registered against those sand mafias and action will be initiated soon.

Ten mafias have been identified in Patna district who are involved in sand mining in Sone river. Besides nine mafias in Bhojpur district, nine in Rohtas district, eight in Saran and six in naxal-affected Aurangabad district have been identified.

Apart from Saran, the mafias of other four districts are involved in mining sand from Sone river. The sand of Sone river has high demand in the construction business across Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh. In Saran district, mafias are involved in mining in Ganga river.

The EOW has already taken action against over 30 officials, including two SP rank officers for their alleged links with sand mafias of the region. The officers have allegedly provided support to mafias during mining, storage and transportation of sand in trucks.

"At present, the majority of the officials are booked under the disproportionate assets case in EOW. We are also evaluating the movable and immovable assets of mafias," the official said.

The companies which are given the contract for mining at various pockets of Sone and Ganga rivers, have returned the official document to the state government, fearing the mafias prevalent in the region.

The officials associated with the mining companies allege that they don't get support from the local police to take on the mafias.

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