Noida: Activist fighting against sand mafia shot dead

Noida, Aug 01: An activist, who had filed a complaint against powerful sand mafia, was shot dead by three bike-borne gunmen in Sector-126 Noida, on Wednesday.

According to reports, the family members of 52-year-old Pale Ram Chauhan has also blamed sand mafia for his murder.

The incident happened at 11.45 am yesterday and three bullets were pumped into the victim.

Chauhan, an outspoken activist, had been fighting against illegal sand mining from few days back in Raipur village, Noida.

His son told a news agency, "My father consistently raised his voice against illegal mining in the village and had approached local authorities which irked the mining mafia."

Some reports also claim that Chauhan was murdered when 3 masked gunmen barged into his home, who came on a bike, without any number plate.

Then, his neighbours took him to a nearby Kailash hospital where he was declared brought dead. He is survived by his wife and two sons.

Some of his relatives claimed that there were rampant illegal sand mining activities going on in that area but the district administration and police did not take any action after repeated complaints by Chauhan.

However, police has denied any role of sand mafia in the killing of Chauhan and they claimed that the reason behind his murder is due to a land dispute case.

On the basis of his son's statement, an FIR has been lodged against three men. Three suspects have been reportedly interrogated in connection with the murder.

The shocking murder happened three days after an IAS officer, Durga Shakti Nagpal was suspended after she led a massive crackdown on sand mafia.

OneIndia News