After the incident, the forest officials called the DFO and lodged a complaint. (Representational)
Members of the mining mafia in Antri district of Gwalior freed a tractor which had been seized by the forest officials but while they were taking it away, it overturned and they fled. Now the police are searching for them.
In Santau forest near Toda village which comes under the jurisdiction of Antri police station, information was received by the forest officials about a tractor full of stones being taken out of the forest area by the mining mafia.
As soon as the information was received, the forest officials rushed to the spot along with a team and started investigating the tractor driver. They later seized the tractor on suspicion after the driver failed to provide relevant documents.
Later on, a dozen people, armed with weapons reached the spot and took away the tractor. The forest official continued their pursuit of the tractor. However, after reaching the highway, the tractor was found overturned and the mafia gang, along with the tractor driver fled the site.
After the incident, the forest officials called the DFO and lodged a complaint at Antri police station.
Speaking to ANI, DFO Brijendra Shrivastava said, "After receiving the information of illegal mining in the area, the team rushed to the spot and seized the tractor. However, some anti-social elements took away the tractor at gunpoint. A case has been registered at the concerned police station," he added.
Amit Sanghi, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Gwalior told ANI, "We have lodged a complaint under IPC section 186 among other sections and are investigating the matter. We have also informed the regional authorities to immediately arrest the accused."
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)