Athoor Panchayat Union Chairman Gobi and his accomplices Balamurugan and Sait were arrested on a charge of lifting sand illegally from tanks at many villages in Athoor block in the district on Tuesday.
In a complaint lodged with police, Athoor Village Administrative Officer Nirmala stated that some unidentified persons had been lifting sand on a large scale, using earthmovers and tipper lorries, violating guidelines.
Acting on the complaint, the police arrested the trio at Chithaiyankottai near Batlagundu and produced them before the Dindigul Judicial Magistrate Court on Tuesday morning.
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They were remanded in 15 days’ judicial custody. Gobi was All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam joint secretary for Athoor Assembly segment.
The Hindu had carried an exclusive report on March 23 about indiscriminate sand mining at Karunkulam, Nadu Kulam, Bolasamudrakulam, Kadirayankkulam, Athikulam, Sengulam, Pulvetti tank and Ambathurai rural tanks in Athoor union. Palayamkottai, Sedapatti, Koolampatti, Mallaiyapuram, Akkaraipatti, Sokkalingapuram, Azhagarnaickenpatt, Paraipatti, Bodikamanvadi, Veerasikkampatti, Chithaiyankottai and Nadupatti were some of the worst-affected villages owing to depletion of storage in the tanks, it pointed out.
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court too served notices to the district administration in this connection, directing it to submit a report on how they allowed such illegal activities and the action taken against sand miners.
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