‘I’ll shoot you and go to jail’: Sand mafia member threatens Shivpuri tehsildar

P.NaveenBhopal: A revenue officer leading a crackdown on illegal soil excavation in Madhya Pradesh’s Shivpuri district was allegedly threatened with being shot by a man accused of illegal mining, who shouted to his son to bring a gun during the operation, officials said.The incident occurred on Thursday afternoon in Sadbud village under Badarwas tehsil. A video of the confrontation surfaced on Friday, prompting police to register an FIR against Jaymandal Yadav, his father Lakhan Yadav, and his son Vikul Yadav on charges including criminal intimidation and obstructing public servants from discharging their duties.According to police, a revenue department team led by Tehsildar Sachin Bhargava raided the site after receiving information about illegal excavation of soil from govt land near the Sindh River.

Officials found a Hydra machine digging soil to create an access road to the riverbed for sand mining, while two tractor-trolleys were allegedly transporting the excavated earth.As officials moved to seize the vehicles, the Hydra operator fled with the machine. During the confrontation, Jaymandal allegedly threatened the tehsildar, saying, “Stop, or I’ll shoot you and go to jail,” before calling out to his son Vikul to bring a gun, saying he would “shoot all of them.”

Amid the chaos, the accused allegedly escaped with the Hydra machine and one tractor-trolley. The revenue team managed to seize another tractor-trolley loaded with illegally excavated soil, which was later deposited at the Badarwas police station.Officials said the accused had dug deep pits on govt land. During questioning, they claimed the land belonged to them, but an inspection found that excavation had also been carried out on adjoining govt land, leading to action against them.In his complaint, officials alleged that Jaymandal, Lakhan and Vikul abused the revenue team, threatened to kill them, and obstructed them from carrying out the operation.An FIR has been registered, and further investigation is underway.