Congress LS candidate from Kota seat Prahlad Gunjal booked in illegal mining case

Representation Pic

According to a PTI report, the Police filed charges against Congressman Prahlad Gunjal on Tuesday for theft, criminal trespass, and encroachment on public land in connection with an alleged illicit mining operation. 955 tonnes of stone, an excavator, and a dumper were taken from a stone crusher unit run by a Congress Lok Sabha candidate from Kota-Bundi Gunjal, close to the villages of Bawadikheda and Kolana, according to a joint police and forest department team.

Officials stated that on Monday and Tuesday, the operation against Gunjal's stone crusher equipment was completed. This is happening the day after three unauthorised buildings, including Congress leader Amin Pathan's farmhouse, were discovered during an anti-encroachment campaign in Kota's Anantpura neighbourhood. According to Prahlad Gunjal, during a press conference on Tuesday, the Rajasthan BJP's political vendetta was motivated by the fact that all documents about the stone crusher were legitimate.

In the vicinity of the Ranpur police station, the police reported that they had learned of illicit mining operations taking place on government territory. According to DSP Manish Sharma, a member of the team, a combined police and forest department team arrived at the alleged location on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday at the villages of Badwadikheda and Kolana.

Per the PTI report, the following day, revenue, mining, police, and forest department personnel arrived at the location for site mapping, he added. Police had discovered possible illicit mining activity, including machinery and equipment. According to a tehsildar report, Sharma claimed, 955 tonnes of stone, an excavator, and a dumper were taken from the site. According to him, allegations of theft under sections 379, 447, and 4/21 of the MMRD Act, as well as section 92 A of the Rajasthan Urban Improvement Act, have been made against Prahlad Gunjal and his nephew Lokesh Gunjal.

Meanwhile, in a press conference, Prahlad Gunjal said the action at his stone crusher unit by the district administration was a "political vendetta". He claimed the stone crusher unit was operational legally with all required permissions, approvals and papers as per rules and regulations. Gunjal also showed papers at the press conference, claiming that they were official papers of the stone crusher unit.

According to Gunjal, the government was afraid of the outcome of the June 4 Lok Sabha elections and is taking action against BJP opponents. Notably, Gunjal joined the Congress a few weeks before the Kota constituency votes in the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections, having spent almost forty years with the BJP. In his bid to unseat Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, a former party colleague running for a third term in office, he was put forward by his new party.

Gunjal also said the land on which the stone crusher was being operated was converted exclusively for that purpose in July 2010. Such permission for land conversion was only possible after NOC from all concerned departments, Gunjal said, asserting the legality of his crusher registered in the name of his wife.

He said, "The stones were stored because the stone mines are filled with water due to the rain". After all, the rainy season was approaching. Along with pointing out additional unlawful mining and crushing operations in and around Kota, Gunjal threatened to stage protests against these operations once June 4 arrived.

(With Inputs from PTI)