Illegal sand mining: TN BJP urges DMK govt to form a Special Investigation Team

CHENNAI: BJP state unit on Sunday urged the ruling DMK government to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe into the allegations of money laundering, involving a huge quantity of illegal sand mining in the state.

Pointing out the Directorate of Enforcement's (ED) letter to the Tamil Nadu Director General of Police (DGP), the BJP spokesperson ANS Prasad urged the Stalin-led Tamil Nadu government to take action against the illegal sand mining.

In a statement, the BJP leader expressed shock over the huge quantity of illegal sand mining and said despite various complaints and frequent media reports and ED letter, the concerned district administrations, the Minerals and Mines department and the minister Duraimurugan are keeping silent without taking any action on the illegal sand mining.

He also alleged that the state government officials of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, Revenue, Minerals and Mines, Public Works and few other departments are supporting the illegal sand mining and this is the major evidence of the corrupt DMK government's administrative failure.

The BJP leader also took a dig at the previous AIADMK regime, saying even though the regimes have changed in Tamil Nadu, the scenes have not changed.

"Those involved in the illegal sand mining in the AIADMK regime, were also continued in the DMK regime too. The DMK government relaxed the norms and handed over the illegal sand mining and quarries to the sand mafia in its regime too, " he said.

"If the TN government does not take action soon based on the ED's letter, the ED officials should initiate a free and fair trial against the concerned state government officials and the Minister for Minerals and Mines Duraimurugan, " Prasad noted.