Thane: In an overnight crackdown on illegal sand mining, a joint team of Thane revenue department, police and Maharashtra Maritime Board seized equipment worth around Rs 3 crore from Dive-Kewani creek in Bhiwandi taluka and detained one worker, while others escaped.Acting on a tip-off, officials launched the operation shortly after midnight on Tuesday under the direction of Thane District Collector Dr Shrikrishna Panchal. It may be noted that raids against illegal sand mining are generally conducted during the day for safety reasons.Teams led by District Mining Officer Vivek Ghule, Bhiwandi tehsildar Abhijit Khole and Thane tehsildar Umesh Patil, along with vigilance squads and officials from Bhiwandi and Thane sub-divisions, entered the creek near Dive-Kewani crematorium in boats and stealthily approached the suspected mining site around 3 am.According to a revenue official, the workers were caught off guard and allegedly opened the valves of the suction pumps and barges in an attempt to sink the equipment and destroy evidence. “The workers then jumped into the deep waters and fled, leaving behind a 19-year-old man from Jharkhand, who was detained and handed over to the police,” the official said.A team returned to the site during low tide on Tuesday morning, recovered 10 barges and 16 suction pumps, which had got stuck in the mangroves, and moved them by boats to Kalwa and Ganesh Ghat in Mumbra. Officials said the barges were not registered with MMB and were classified as unauthorised and could be scrapped soon.“Cases are being registered with Bhiwandi and Mumbra police stations in connection with the alleged illegal sand extraction and environmental damage,” officials said late Tuesday.
