M.R. Vijayabaskar booked for being in possession of river sand

Days after former Minister M.R. Vijayabaskar visited an illegal sand quarry at Vangal seeking to expose alleged illegal sand mining, the Karur town police have registered a case against him under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act for allegedly possessing river sand without any valid documents.

Acting on a complaint of N. Shanmugam, Village Administrative Officer of Andankoil, the Karur town police went to the house of Vijayabaskar at Andankoil and found about 12 units of sand kept on a plot owned by his wife Vijayalakshmi. He did not produce the receipts for having purchased the sand. Following this, a case was registered against him under the MM (DR) Act.

Similarly, the Karur town police have registered a case against Dhanapal, Andankoil ward secretary of AIADMK, for allegedly possessing 100 units of river sand on a piece of land.

Claiming that the case was foisted against him, Mr. Vijayabaskar said it was an attempt by the DMK to stifle his voice against the illegal sand mining from the Cauvery and the Amaravathi and smuggling of sand to different parts of the State. He would come out clean in the case and he would soon approach the competent court to get the First Information Report (FIR) quashed.