Bikram S Majithia demands CBI probe into illegal mining of sand by Harjot Bains and SSP Vivek Sheel Soni

Former minister and senior Shiromani AkaliDal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia today said illegal mining in Ropar district had reached its zenith under the “team” of recently transferred SSP Vivek Sheel Soni and education minister Harjot Bains and demanded a CBI probe into the assets of the duo as well as illegal mining done by them.
Addressing a press conference here, the SAD leader said Vivek Sheel Soni had only violated the NGT guidelines but also instructions of the Punjab and High Court and even actively indulged in a cover up of the misdeeds of the family of Harjot Bains, all of whom, along with the minister, were engaged in illegal mining.“The benami assets of all these people, including assets made abroad, should be probed”.
Bikram Majithia said “It is shocking that the Ropar police under the leadership of Vivek Sheel Soni has also tried to cover up the illegal mining done on a piece of land which has been seized by the Enforcement Directorate”. He said after the case was highlighted the Ropar police had registered an FIR in the case but the name of the village in which the land was situated had been deliberately changed to make the FIR redundant. Majithia said earlier also the police officer had been hauled up by the high court for deliberately not mentioning the drug kingpins in FIRs. He said Justice Sherawat had gone to the extent of asking the SSP to submit FIRs filed with regard to illegal mining as well as submit details of crime meetings and the reason for delay in moving against those involved in drug trafficking.
The SAD leader said despite causing an immense harm of thousands of crores to the State exchequer as per Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Convener Arvind Kejriwal who had guaranteed an annual income of Rs 20,000 crore from sand mining, Vivek Sheel Soni had been rewarded and posted as SSP, Moga. Majithia also spoke on how illegal mining was endangering key infrastructure projects while giving the example of the bridge on the Sutlej River at Anandpur Sahib was on the verge of collapse due to rampant illegal mining downstream. He said similarly several defence projects had been threatened by illegal mining along the international border with Pakistan, a fact that had been raised by the high court also. He said the high court had also noted that illegal mining along the international border had endangered national security. He also gave the example of illegal mining in Khadoor Sahib where an honest and upright SSP– Gurmeet Singh Chauhan was changed when he arrested the brother-in law of AAP legislator Manjinder Singh Lalpura.
The SAD leader said it was also shocking that the AAP government was converting illegal mining material into legal material by taking a fee of Rs 6 per unit from all truckers carrying illegal sand. “This has happened for the first time ever in any State”, he said adding “Punjab has virtually become the Virgin Island for illegal smugglers with no questions being asked whether material was coming from the State or outside”.