Fazilka, September 27
A junior engineer and a groundsman of the Mining Department were injured when they were assaulted by members of sand mafia at Khundwala village of the Jalalabad subdivision here.
Official sources said after getting a tip-off, a Mining Department team, comprising SDO Gitesh Kumar, Junior Engineer Malkeet Singh and two groundsmen, had gone to check illegal mining at a remote border village Khundwala. They found some persons involved in illegal mining. They seized a sand-laden tractor-trailer and some machinery.
Jalalabad DSP Atul Soni said when the mining staff initiated legal proceedings and started preparing documents, about 10 persons assaulted the team members with sharp-edged weapons and pelted them with stones and bricks.
In a bid to save their lives, the team members rushed to their official vehicle. The assailants followed them and vandalised the vehicle also. Meanwhile, a police team reached there and saved the lives of the mining staff. The assailant fled from the scene.
However Junior Engineer Malkeet Singh and groundsman Sandeep Singh sustained grievous injuries. They have been admitted to the Civil Hospital, Jalalabad. DSP Soni said a few persons have been booked under Sections 307, 353, 148 and 149 of the IPC and the Mining Act.
