Mukhtar-backed fish trade mafia nabbed

Varanasi: Continuing their drive against the henchmen of jailed mafia don-turned MLA Mukhtar Ansari, the cops in Jaunpur district arrested his close associate and fish trade mafia Ravindra Kumar Nishad with banned species of Thai Mangur and other fishes worth of Rs 12 lakhs.
Varanasi administration also issued notice to fisheries department officials for turning a blind eye towards trade of Mangur by Mukhtar backed traders, who were arrested recently.
SP Jaunpur Ashok Kumar said in a joint action of police, food safety and drug administration and fisheries department raided his establishment in Jogoyapur area under the limits of Kotwali police station. During the raid, apart from Nishad his accomplice B Narain Rao of Andhra Pradesh was also arrested.
From his godown, the cops seized 25 kg of banned species of Thai Mangur, 80 quintals of Rohu and Pyasi fishes and also a truck. Kumar said that during investigation it came to light that Nishad, who is associated with Mukhtar gang, was illegally operating fish trade without any registration with fisheries department of seeking licence with food safety and drugs administration department. This fish mafia has amassed wealth with the earnings made through illegal trades of fish, he said adding, the issue of construction of his house and an under construction mall is also under investigation. On the other hand, following the arrest of Mukhtar backed fish mafia Mohd Salim and his accomplices and unearthing of a pond inside Banglow-51 of Cantonment area to keep the stock of Thai Mangur, district magistrate Varanasi Kaushal Raj Sharma had sought explanation from the assistant director fisheries by issuing a notice to him.
The DM asked him to reply whether illegal trade of fish and extortion from fish traders by the persons involved in illegal trade was in their knowledge and it it had been in their notice what action was initiated against those illegal traders and extortionists. The DM has given seven days time to the fisheries department officials to submit his reply. The DM said that the fresh recoveries had exposed laxity by the department.