In a major crackdown on illegal sand mining, the Mysuru district police along with officials of various departments busted a sand extraction camp along Kapila river near Suttur town, about 28 kms from here, on Thursday.
The police seized 40 iron boats used in the illegal extraction of sand from the river during the raid amidst stiff resistance from the residents of town. Police had to resort to caning the residents, who protested the police action.
Describing the seizure as “biggest” in recent times, Superintendent of Mysore district police Abhinav Khare said the authorities had a tough time in view of the protest staged by residents, including women.
However, he said no arrests had been made so far. Meanwhile, tension prevailed in Suttur town and police had been deployed to maintain law and order even as the authorities deployed earth-movers to crush the iron boats into pulp.
