Bhavnagar, Oct 30 (IANS) Two men were arrested in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar district for running a WhatsApp group through which they shared information about the movements of government officials with people involved in illegal mining, helping them to evade checks by authorities, officials said on Friday.
The Bhavnagar Local Crime Branch (LCB) arrested the accused on October 29 after the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Bhavnagar Rural suspected that they were keeping watch on the movements of government officials from near the old Collector’s office.
According to the police, the two men were allegedly operating a WhatsApp group named ‘Jai Ramadhani’, to which they had added people involved in illegal mineral excavation and transportation.
They monitored the movement of vehicles used by the SDM and other government officials and relayed information through audio messages in the group.
“The accused allegedly charged each member Rs 1,000 a month for sharing information about the officials’ movements,” the police said.
The SDM alerted the police after suspecting that the two men, who were sitting near the entrance of the old Collector’s office, were keeping watch on his movements and those of other officials to help people involved in illegal mining evade enforcement action.
An LCB team reached the spot and detained the two men. During questioning, they allegedly admitted to running the WhatsApp group and sharing information about the movement of government officials with its members.
The SDM, M D Parmar, subsequently lodged a complaint at Nilambaug police station, following which an offence was registered. The accused were handed over to the police station for further investigation.
The arrested men have been identified as Bhagirathsinh Vala, a resident of Shramjivi Society near Shivaji Circle in Bhavnagar, and Rohit Rathod, a resident of Ruva village on Airport Road. The police seized a motorcycle and a mobile phone from them.
“The operation was carried out by the LCB under Inspector H B Chauhan, with Sub-Inspectors R A Vadher, V C Jadeja, P D Zala and V B Chaudhary, along with other personnel,” officials said.
The operation followed instructions from senior officials to identify those involved in illegal mining and those allegedly helping operators evade government officials.
–IANS
mys/dan
About the Author
