Group attacks Nuh police team during mining check

Unchecked mining in the Aravallis, despite a Supreme Court ban, took a turn for the worse on Wednesday when a rockfall in Pichopa Kalan village of Charkhi Dadri district fell atop a parked vehicle and severely injured its driver, Subhash Singh, who is a resident of the village.

- Leena Dhankhar

GURUGRAM:

The incident, coming within a fortnight of a blast in Rava village on the Haryana-Rajasthan border, where the mining mafia allegedly detonated a hillock in the protected Aravalli range on December 17, caused widespread outrage among villagers.

This is the fourth major mining-related incident within a month, raising serious questions about the administration's ability to curb rampant quarrying in the state.

Villagers said the rockfall took place around 1.30am and Singh had to be taken to a hospital in Bhiwani. "This was bound to happen. Illegal mining has been ongoing here, with no safety measures in place," said Sanjeev Kumar, another resident.

Subdivisional magistrate Suresh Dalal said, "During the inspection, no evidence of a hill collapse was found. It seems that a stone fell, which led to the injury of one person and damage to a vehicle. A thorough investigation is underway to determine the exact cause of the incident."