Six lorry drivers were arrested on charges of illegally transporting more than 120 tonnes of iron ore in six lorries from the Sandur forest range to Andhra Pradesh through Rajapura and Dibbaladinni on the night of January 17.

Range Forest Officer, Mr Mahesh Patel, seized the ore consignment and the lorries. Cases were registered against the six lorry drivers on January 18.

Mr Patel told Deccan Herald that the services of the police had been utilized during the operation to nab the culprits and seize the consignment on January 17. While there is already an ore check post on the outskirts of Vithalapura, a temporary mineral check post has been opened at Dibbaladinni.

The people allege that the accused usually take the consignment through Lingadahalli, Metrakki, Rajapura, Gangalapura and Dibbaladinni to Veerhalu and Malapanagudi in Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh.

They said that the latest case lends credence to what Lokayukta Santosh Hegde has been saying all along on ore being illegally transported from the Bellary region to Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, though there is a ban on export of ore.

(Sourced from DHNS)