The woman who took on CM's nephew

NK SINGH

An unknown junior officer, a mere cog in the giant wheels of Madhya Pradesh Government, turned out to be a catalyst for courage among public servants. In a daring action in January 2017, Sehore Mining Inspector Rashmi Pandey seized four overloaded dumpers ferrying sand that were owned by a nephew of the State’s Chief Minister.

Ignoring the usual name dropping and veiled threats by those involved in illegal operations, the lady officer displayed rare pluck by filing a case against the supposedly influential owner of the dumpers.

It was a routine action. Mining Inspectors are supposed to, and expected to, act against those violating the mining rules. But there is no dearth of public servants who curry favour with rulers rather than doing their duty. Seizing trucks owned by a relative of the Chief Minister needed guts. 

For almost a decade now the central MP districts of Sehore, Hoshangabad and Bhopal have been humming with rumours about extraordinary political clout of sand mining mafia operating in the region.

The seizure of those four dumpers galvanised the State Government into action. Pandey accomplished what even half-a-dozen killings earlier, including that of an IPS officer, at the hands of mafia had failed to elicit. Leading the drive against mafia was none other than Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. 

Apparently, the incident threatened to affect his image, given the background of the accused and the rumours circulating earlier. It also threatened credibility of his government’s on-going grandiose campaign to protect Narmada, a river of faith for millions, from illegal mining.

Two days after Sehore seizure, Chief Minister reached out to District Collectors through video conferencing. Flanked by Chief Secretary BP Singh, Chouhan congratulated Pandey without naming her: “I must appreciate that mining officers acted promptly and seized overloaded sand trucks in their area without succumbing to any influence.” 

Sending a clear message to those trying to misuse his name, he instructed government officers: “Effective action must be taken against all those involved in illegal mining to sustain the impression that there is a rule of law in Madhya Pradesh.”

As if on a cue, the Government has gone in an overdrive, raiding and confiscating trucks, tractor trollies and boats involved in illegal mining in different parts of MP. The directive from the top has boosted the morale of long-suffering honest officers.

Mafia with money and muscle power

The unscrupulous operators involved in illegal sand mining enjoy money power and muscle power, along with political patronage. It has also social sanction as it is a big employment generator in rural areas. The minor mineral is controlled by a major mafia, as a report by India Water Portal puts it. 

The mafia virtually holds the administration to ransom, plundering the State’s natural resources with impunity. There are areas in lawless Chambal valley where administration fears to tread.  Over the last few years at least half-a-dozen policemen, administrative officials and journalists were killed for opposing or trying to stop illegal mining.

The most notorious case was that of IPS officer Narendra Kumar Singh, who was killed in Morena in 2012 by sand mafia.  Police constable Dharmendra Singh Chouhan, a retired armyman, was killed, again in Morena, in 2015. 

In the same year, mafia burnt alive journalist Sandeep Kothari in Balaghat. Next year, a forest guard was killed during a crackdown on illegal miners in Gwalior district.

The mafia routinely opens fire even on police parties raiding mining sites in Morena, Bhind, Panna and Chhatarpur districts. Last year, a woman police inspector was attacked in Shajapur, a boat carrying a sub divisional magistrate was drowned in Burhanpur and two journalists of a regional TV channel journalists were kidnapped and thrashed in Hoshangabad.  

In February 2017, even as CM was asking his officers to act against mafia, a tractor trolley driver carrying illegal sand tried to crush a Naib Tehsildar in Guna. In Panna they have built a bridge to ferry sand across the Ken! In Sidhi they have built an illegal road in the mighty Son basin. Mining and forest employees are beaten up in several districts.

Not that all officers are mute spectators.

Even as Pandey was doing her duty in Sehore, in faraway Panna Collector JP Irene Cynthia and SP Riaz Iqbal had seized 112 vehicles carrying illegal sand despite the mafia flaunting its political muscles.

The system needs more Pandeys, Cynthias and Iqbals. And if some are ready to bend over backwards to please the political masters, there is no dearth of honest officers too. They may be mere cogs in the wheel. But even a cog can stop the wheel from moving.

IPS officer Narendra Kumar Singh’s son, born 11 days after his father’s murder, may like to thank Pandey for carrying on his father’s good work. So will his wife, Madhurani Tewatia, a 2010 batch IAS officer, who got her cadre changed from Madhya Pradesh after her husband was killed by sand mafia.

Powers That Be, my column in DB Post of 5 March 2017

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