Haryana: Aravali miners target govt team with stones, third attack since DSP Surender Singh Bishnoi murder

GURUGRAM: A team of enforcement officials was pelted with stones at Bader village in Nuh as they went after miners who had JCB-like machines for excavating in the Aravalis.
The joint team of police and mining department officials had to call forces for backup on Thursday.
The incident comes close on the heels of the Tauru DSP's killing in Pachgaon, 70km from Bader, in Nuh. DSP Surender Singh Bishnoi was run over by the driver of a dumper truck carrying illegally mined stones that he had intercepted.
One policeman was injured in Thursday's attack at Bader. An FIR was registered against five accused, one of whom is a juvenile driver apprehended by the police, and 50 others who are yet to be identified.
"We have collected samples from the sites to check if explosives were used to carry out mining. We had to call for additional forces as the miners started throwing stones at the team. Further investigation is on," Nuh superintendent of police Varun Singla told TOI on Friday.
The accused have been booked under IPC sections 307 (attempt to murder), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), and the Mines and Minerals Act, the SP said.
The targeted attack in Bader - close to the state border with Rajasthan - is another reminder of the challenges in clamping down on illegal mining in the Aravalis. In 2009, the Supreme Court had imposed a blanket ban on the ecologically sensitive hill ranges in three districts of Haryana -- Nuh, Faridabad and Gurugram.
The team of officials from the mining department and the police on Thursday carried out a raid after getting a tip-off about mining in Bader.
When the 10-member team reached the area, they found traces of recent mining at three spots, and saw some workers nearby.
A group of miners then climbed a hillock and attacked them with stones, police said. They had escaped by the time other enforcement officials reached.
The mining department also seized three chain excavator machines - "improvised JCBs with chains on their wheels" - which make quarrying on the rocky terrain easier, an official said on the condition of anonymity.
"These machines are more powerful," he said, adding that they have been handed over to the Pinangwan police station, Nuh.
Despite the ban, mining continues to thrive in the region, often with help from locals who say they have few employment opportunities in their hometowns.
On August 19, just about a month after the Tauru DSP was killed, a team of mining officials was thrashed by suspected miners at Sehjawas village of Sohna when it tried to stop a tractor during an inspection.
SP Singla said on Friday it appeared the locals had helped the accused escape on Thursday too. "Villagers are often involved in mining in this area, which makes the task of arresting the accused difficult. During Thursday's raid too, the villagers helped the accused flee," the SP said.
"We will continue carrying out raids to end the mining nexus," Singla added.
The Haryana government had declared a renewed crackdown to halt illegal mining in the state after uproar over Tauru DSP Surender Singh Bishnoi's murder in July.
Increased surveillance, including with drones, and raids on stone-crushing units across several areas were among the measures taken.
The forest department has also started digging up trenches in the paths leading up to the Aravalis from the foothills. These, officials had said, would be a deterrent for miners who need to travel on narrow lanes up to the hills to quarry stones.
The Aravali hills are home to a rich biodiversity of flora and fauna, including several endangered species such as leopards and honey badgers. The ranges are also the only wall of greenery that limits desert-like conditions largely to Rajasthan.