Sivaganga police cracked down on illegal soil extraction, arresting three individuals for illicit sand mining in the Uppar river and apprehending two others for unauthorised red soil quarrying near Sivaganga.
Acting on a tip-off regarding unauthorised sand mining in Uppar river near A. Pudukulam area, a police team headed by Sub-Inspector Rajadurai from the Manamadurai SIPCOT station conducted a surprise raid.
During the raid, police caught three men—identified as Prakashkumar, 22, of Vembathur, Sathyamoorthy, 26, of V. Pudukulam, and Surya, 26, of Komalipatti—actively excavating sand using a heavy earth-mover.
Police arrested the trio on the spot and seized the excavator alongside a two-wheeler used in the operation.
In a separate incident near Ponnampatti, individuals were found illegally selling red soil excavated under the pretext of constructing a private farm pond with formal permission from the Department of Horticulture.
Acting on complaints lodged by local residents, the Sivaganga Taluk police arrested Sukumar, 34, of Sivaganga and Ramachandran, 74, of Ponnampatti in connection with the illicit soil extraction. An earth-mover and a lorry involved in transporting the material were also confiscated.
Published - October 07, 2026 07:46 pm IST