Cops to put leash on sand mafia

KOCHI: With sand mafia becoming rampant in the city, the City Police Special Branch is planning to put a leash on illegal sand mining activities across river banks in the district. The decision has come in the wake of a sudden increase in the number of cases registered in this regard, said the police officials.The Special Branch officials said that detailed checking and inspection would be carried out across various river banks in the district. “In the last one month, there have been at least eight cases where people were caught red-handed from Cheranalloor and the surrounding areas. This shows that these areas need to kept under a strict vigil,” a Special Branch official said.The officials also added that measures against illegal sand mining will become part of their priority list. Assistant Commissioner, Special Branch, Tommy Sebastian said, “Until now, we have been focussing other kinds of crimes like sale of ganja, pornography etc. However, from now on, more patrolling will be conducted around the river banks.”The Special Branch officials also added that even the Eloor area is under the grip of sand mining. “Recently, around five cases of sand mining were registered from the area owing to the strict vigil kept by the locals here,” the police official said.Officials also admit that the local police have not been efficient in tackling this problem. Hence, the City Shadow Police were given orders to track down the mafia.