Krishnagiri: In the early hours of Saturday, the Mathur police seized a tipper truck that was illegally transporting river sand within their jurisdiction. According to an official source, Mathur police inspector Venkatesh Prabhu and his team were conducting night patrol in the Penukondapuram village area on Friday when they stopped a tipper truck for inspection.
Driver's Contradictory Statements
The driver initially claimed that the truck was carrying M-sand. However, when the team requested the permit for transporting M-sand, he gave contradictory answers, which raised suspicion. Upon further inspection, the police found that the truck was loaded with river sand, with only a thin layer of M-sand placed on top to deceive authorities.
Driver Escapes
While the police were examining the load, the driver abandoned the vehicle and fled the scene. The tipper truck was subsequently taken to the police station for further investigation.
Owner Identified as Notorious Smuggler
Initial investigations revealed that the truck belonged to M Tirupathi, a 48-year-old sand smuggler from the Mathur area. Interestingly, just three days prior, another tipper truck owned by him had been caught for sand smuggling, according to the inspector.
Local Concerns Over Illegal Mining
Local villagers alleged that sand was being illegally mined from the Nadupattu river in Ramakrishnampathy village near Mathur during nighttime. Social activists have expressed deep concerns over the rising illegal sand mining activities and have urged officials to take stringent measures to curb such practices.
