Kurcilapet ward member alleges official hand in sand smuggling
“Among those two also, one tractor vanished a couple of days later,” Shanmugam said.
Area from where sand was illegally mined and accumulated for transportation, near Tirupattur
TIRUPATTUR: Days after a ward member of the Kurcilapet village panchayat in Tirupattur district in a petition submitted to Collector D Basakra Pandian during the grievances day meeting alleging involvement of revenue officials in smuggling of sand in the district, an inquiry was ordered to check the veracity of the claims.
Ward member K Shanmugam in his petition signed by over 50 residents of the village claimed that after the Tirupattur RDO was alerted about illegal sand smuggling from a government ‘poromboke’ land on July 2, officials including the RDO arrived on the spot and seized an earthmover and seven tractors.
Shamugam alleged that while the drivers escaped, the panchayat president along with 20 of his supporters, who were said to be local ruling party men, arrived at the spot questioned the officials’ action. Much to the shock of the locals, the earthmovers and three tractors were ‘released after talks between officials and the group’, the ward member said and added that officials on the way to the Kurcilapet police station, released two more tractors Two other tractors remained in the officials’ possession. “Among those two also, one tractor vanished a couple of days later,” Shanmugam said.
Claiming that the smugglers paid the panchayat Rs 10,000 every week, Shanmugam said amidst these shocking developments, two men, looking like cops, who were in mufti, approached me at the Tirupattur new bus stand on July 6 and issued me a veiled warning advising me to look after my health and my family and not to antagonise VIPs, including DMK biggies. They further asked me not to file RTI petitions or approach the police.”
Reacting to the issue, Collector Baskara Pandian said, “The issue is being raised by certain middlemen, who after finding their income avenues being blocked by strict revenue officials, now want to ensure that their clout was threatened in no way. They want officials to book only empty tractors for which there is no provision under the law. And when officials do not oblige the offenders, they seek to cast aspersions on officials.”
