The Hindu : Call details expose police-sand mafia nexus

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Mar 29, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Call details expose police-sand mafia nexus

By Radhakrishnan Kuttoor

PATHANAMTHITTA, MARCH 28 . Particulars of calls made from a cellular phone owned by one Yousuf, who was apprehended by the police on March 16, have provided evidence of an "unholy nexus" between the sand mafia and a section of police officials in Pathanamthitta district. The evidence was produced before the First Class Judicial Magistrate Court I at Pathanamthitta recently.

The accused, Yousuf of Kattoor Petta, near Kozhenchery, was taken into custody by the Kozhencherry Circle Inspector, R. Chandrashekhara Pillai, on the night of March 16. According to the police, the Kozhencherry CI received an anonymous telephonic message on March 16 informing him of sand-mining operations from the Pampa river at Ayroor. The message also warned the police official that some people had been deployed to keep tab on his movements. As the CI left his residence to investigate the case, after informing the Aranmula and Koipram police stations, he noticed a car parked in front of his residence speeding towards Ayroor. The CI gave a chase and apprehended Yousuf, who was driving the car.

The police said Yousuf was a "habitual offender" in a number of sand smuggling cases and the District Collector, Rabeendra Kumar Agarwal, had directed the police to register a criminal case against him three months ago. However, he had been eluding the police all these days.

According to police sources, the incoming and out-going call lists and the messages in the cell phone seized from Yousuf were subjected to examination by the police as part of the investigation, exposing startling evidences hinting at an `unholy nexus' between the sand mafia and a section of the police personnel in the district. The particulars of the call lists show that many calls were either made to or received from someone at the Koipram and Aranmula police stations and at the Circle Inspector's office at Kozhenchery. There were also records of calls having been made from the phone to certain panchayat authorities and political leaders, besides a few SMS messages regarding lorry numbers, the police sources said.

There have been allegations that the sand mafia based at Kattoor receives strong patronage from some fundamentalist outfits as well as a prominent political party.

Sources said that Mr. Pillai's posting as CI in Kozhenchery had made things difficult for the sand mafia.

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