CBI probing UP's illegal sand mining case, questions persons linked to case

The CBI on Monday said it was questioning persons concerned in connection with its investigation into Uttar Pradesh's illegal sand mining case. A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) source said here that a team of CBI was in Hamirpur district of the state.

"The team is completing the field investigation. And the private persons and government officials associated with the case are being examined," the source said. The remarks came a fortnight after the CBI registered a case against 11 people including B. Chandrakala, then Hamirpur District Magistrate, Ramesh Kumar, a Samajwadi Party leader, and others.

The CBI had registered separate cases into the alleged irregularities in grant of licences between 2012 and 2016, in violation of the Allahabad High Court order which had ratified an e-tender policy in Kaushambi and Shamli districts in 2018. Then Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had granted the mine's leases to 14 people in 2013 in Hamirpur district against the High Court's order.