Farmers in Pudukkottai region staged a walkout from the grievance redressal meeting on Friday, January 24, at the district collectorate seeking proper investigation into activist Jagaber Ali's murder and against inaction of local administration in stopping illegal sand and stone quarrying in the region.
During the meeting, chaired by District Collector M Aruna, farmers submitted a petition to the collector and said there was a surge in illegal mining of mineral resources and that many petitions regarding this issue were filed earlier. The farmers said they could not proceed with irrigation and farming activities due to the mining activities.
“Until a proper investigation for the case has been made, we decide to boycott the meeting,” a farmer told the media.
K Jagaber Ali, an anti-sand mining activist and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) member, died in Pudukkottai district’s Vengalur on Friday, January 17, after a lorry hit him while he was riding his bike. The police’s initial investigation revealed that Jagaber was murdered by persons allegedly associated with the quarry. It was against the same quarry that Jagaber had filed complaints with the Pudukkottai district administration, accusing them of undertaking illegal mining activities.
Read: Activist who exposed Rs 840 cr mining scam silenced, family lives in fear
In a video recorded before his death, Jagaber Ali says that RR Sand Crushers was involved in a huge illegal mineral theft, and that he had complained about this to everyone including the Tahsildar, Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO), District Revenue Officer (DRO), Collector, and the Minerals Department. He alleged that the Tahsildar had leaked the information to that company.
The Pudukkottai police have arrested four men including R Rasu, the owner of RR Sand Crushers quarry, S Muruganandhan, Kasinathan, and R Dinesh Kumar, according to reports. The four men have been booked under Sections 194(1), 191(2), 61(2), 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and remanded in judicial custody. RR Sand Crushers’ co-owner Ramaiya surrendered at Namanasamuthiram police station on January 23, 2025.