GUWAHATI: Cachar Superintendent of Police Ramandeep Kaur has launched a campaign to tackle smugglers and coal mafia. There was a total reshuffle of officers in Gumra and Katigora. The existing officers have been transferred to different places. According to sources, Gumra in Cachar district was the gateway for smugglers to illegal smuggling. Due to the high involvement of corrupt police officers, it was later found that the coal was transported in laden trucks which were easily passed by them.
The Enforcement Inspector, Bhabha Kalita was arrested by the Cachar Police for his alleged involvement in the smuggling racket. The arrested police officer was in-charge of Digarkhal. Based on the documents available from the arrested police officer later and information against his alleged involvement over 24 hours Interrogated for a long time. Another accused coal mafia Qari Tahir Ahmed has also been taken into custody. Illegal coal mining and transportation in the North East has been the main attraction of the region. Illegal coal mining was strictly banned by the Congress government in 2014.
The All Dimasa Students' Union and the Dima Hasao District Committee prepared a petition, which was the basis for the ban on mining. The petition states that illegal mining is gradually acidifying the Kopili river. Unfortunately, the ban has not been fully respected and parts of the North East region still face illegal mining and destruction of livelihoods. The ban over the years has resulted in a loss of over Rs 600 crore to the state government and the local people near Jaintia Hills are dependent on mining, which has affected their lives in many ways.
