Kashmir Impulse Desk

Srinagar, June 24

Police in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district have seized five vehicles allegedly involved in illegal extraction and transportation of minerals as authorities intensified enforcement against unauthorised mining activities, officials said on Wednesday.

The operation was carried out by Police Station Litter along the Rambiara stream, where officers detected several tractors transporting construction material without authorisation.

Police said officers initially intercepted a tractor carrying bajri, or gravel, after its driver allegedly ignored signals to stop and attempted to flee the scene.

The driver was later apprehended and the vehicle seized.

Subsequent patrols along the Rambiara stream led to the seizure of four more tractors allegedly engaged in illegal mining operations.

Police said the five vehicles have been impounded and criminal cases registered under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act. Investigations are continuing.

Illegal mining has emerged as a growing environmental concern in parts of Jammu and Kashmir, with authorities periodically conducting enforcement drives against unauthorised extraction of sand, gravel, and other minerals from rivers and streams, citing damage to river ecosystems, public infrastructure, and natural resources.

Police said they remained committed to taking strict action against illegal mining and appealed to the public to report such activities to assist enforcement efforts.