In a major crackdown on illegal mining in the Beas riverbed, the Nurpur district police seized heavy earthmoving machinery and mineral-laden vehicles during a special operation conducted under the Fatehpur police station jurisdiction late on Monday night.
According to the police, a team led by DSP Jawali Biri Singh conducted a raid in the Rey-Pattan area of Fatehpur subdivision and seized one poclain machine, one JCB excavator and five multi-axle trucks allegedly being used for illegal extraction and transportation of minerals.
The trucks were loaded with minerals allegedly extracted illegally from the Beas riverbed. Preliminary investigations revealed that the material had been mined from the Himachal side of the interstate border and was being transported to Punjab for use in stone crushers.
Police said the minerals were allegedly being supplied to stone crushers operating in Punjab that did not possess mining leases or permission to extract minerals from the Beas on the Punjab side and were instead sourcing raw material illegally from Himachal.
Officials said the illegal activity had caused environmental degradation and substantial loss of revenue to the state exchequer. Confirming the action, Nurpur Superintendent of Police Ilma Afroz said FIR No. 72 of 2026 had been registered under Sections 329(3), 303(2) and 190 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Section 21(1) of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act and Section 15 of the Environment (Protection) Act.
She said Sushil Kumar, a resident of Hoshiarpur district in Punjab, had been named as an accused during the preliminary investigation.
In a separate operation the same night, a team from Jawali police station seized a JCB excavator and a tipper allegedly engaged in illegal mining in the Jakhada area. Both vehicles were impounded, challaned under the mining laws and produced before the Judicial Court at Jawali for further legal proceedings.
Local residents and environmental activists welcomed the police action but urged the district police and mining authorities to formulate a long-term strategy to curb illegal mining along the interstate stretches of the Beas in the Fatehpur and Indora subdivisions.