In a major crackdown on the mining mafia, Punjab Police arrested Jammu contractor Rakesh Chaudhry on Friday for illegal mining in the districts of Rupnagar and Mohali.
The arrest of Chaudhry sent shockwaves through state Congress circles, as former ministers and leaders of the previous government had a good relationship with him. His name had come up in former Akali minister Bikram Singh Majithia’s sting operation against former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi. The name Chaudhry was also mentioned during the Enforcement Directorate’s investigation into the money laundering case involving Channi’s nephew Bhupinder Singh Honey and illegal sand mining.
Chaudhry was arrested near Maharaja Ranjit Singh Bagh in Rupnagar and booked at the Nangal police station under Sections 21(1) and 4(1) of the Mining Act and Section 379 of the Indian Penal Code.
Punjab irrigation and mining minister Harjot Singh Bains tweeted shortly after the arrest: “Biggest ever crackdown on illegal mining mafia. Ropar police have arrested the kingpin of illegal mining during the last many years, Rakesh Chaudhry, on complaint of the mining department.”
Chaudhry worked as a mining contractor in the Rupnagar district, which is also the minister’s constituency.
During his election campaign, Bains promised to eradicate the mining mafia from the area. “Everyone who was providing him shelter will be probed,” he said. Sources said that the mining department had sent a report to the district police that the accused had done massive illegal mining and caused loss to the state exchequer to the tune of crores.
Chaudhry is also under investigation by the CBI for obtaining a contract from the National Highway Authority of India using forged documents.
During the Congress administration, police and administrative officials ignored Chaudhry because there was “a clear direction from the government to accommodate him.”
Sandeep Garg, senior superintendent of police in Rupnagar, stated that the accused were apprehended based on a FIR filed on the mining department’s complaint.