At first glance, it could pass for a desert. Pale beige sand forms steep slopes as far as the eye can see, the stark landscape broken only by occasional ridges, faint vehicle tracks, and earthmovers piling sand onto waiting tractors. But look closer, and the differences emerge: patches of green shrubbery and, just beyond, the Mahanadi, summer-worn and thinner than in the monsoon.

This is a sand quarry in Karhi village in Chhattisgarh’s Sakti district. Last week, the 18-year-old son of a Congress leader was shot dead and another son wounded when armed men forced their way into their house late at night. There have been no arrests yet. The killing has drawn attention to ongoing concerns around illegal sand mining in the area, although police said the motive is still under investigation and no link has been established so far.

According to data from the district administration, 46 cases related to illegal sand mining were registered by the mining branch in Karhi over the last two years, with Rs 8 lakh collected in penalties. Seven of these have been registered since the start of this month.

Of the 46 cases, five were related to illegal mining, 39 to transportation of sand without permits and one to illegal storage, with FIRs registered in three cases.

For their part, Sakti’s mining officials say tenders have been awarded for both ghats of the river “to ensure illegal mining does not continue”, but paperwork is still pending. “Official work will start only after an Environment Clearance (EC) is obtained,” mining official K K Banjare said.

Investigation into the murder case continues. When contacted, Birra police station in charge Jai Kumar said they are “probing all angles” and have not established any link between the killing and sand mining so far.

The family of the 18-year-old, however, attributed the killing to a business rivalry. “Some recent killings in the area have been linked to disputes around sand mining,” says his father Sammelan Kashyap, a block-level Congress leader and former sarpanch of Kargi village.

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Photos of the quarry in Karhi village in Chhattisgarh’s Sakti district. Express photo: Jayprakash S Naidu

He alleges that illegal sand mining continues as paperwork for mining licences has not been completed. “At first, illegal mining used to take place through tractors but for the last 3-4 years they started using JCB machines,” he says.

Illegal mining thrives because of political patronage, says Janjgir-Champa MLA Vyas Narayan Kashyap. Sakti was previously part of the Janjgir-Champa district.

“Tenders were auctioned over six months ago but they are not being allotted. Even contractors that have officially won mining tenders are not being made to pay the royalty to start operations legally. Rising competition in the business has also fed the crime. Meanwhile, under pressure, government officials too are not taking action, instead filing petty cases to save their face,” he says.

What happened that night

The incident occurred around 12.30 am in Karhi village on April 24, when the family was asleep at Kashyap’s residence. Three men came on a bike and forced their way into his house, after which one of them opened fire at Kashyap’s son, Ayush, shooting him twice in the chest. His other son, a 16-year-old, was also shot.

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Both were rushed to a hospital, where Ayush was declared brought dead, while the minor is being treated for his injuries and is said to be out of danger.

Kashyap describes his son as having been a “quick learner, who began taking over my business at 14”. He also points to the mementos that Ayush got from cement companies.

“He had a strong network across districts, which helped him transport cement… he even helped other cement traders with his contacts,” he says.

Kashyap also admits that his son eventually got into sand mining, saying it was a “friend who inspired him”. “The idea was to transport sand from our village Karhi, situated on the banks of the Mahanadi, which has two ghats where mining has been going on for several years.”

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According to Kashyap, his son took a loan of Rs 65 lakh to buy a Hyva truck and a JCB machine for his planned mining business.

Local Congress leader Sammelan Kashyap holds up mementos from cement companies won by his son Ayush for his cement business. (Express photo: Jayprakash S Naidu)

“The same month, Ayush was accosted by business rivals when he was transporting some sand, but he escaped then,” Kashyap claimed, alleging the involvement of some “locally influential people”. “Had it not been for sand mining, Ayush would have been alive,” he adds.

Residents talk about how mining has changed the area. “A lot has happened, and now we hear of a murder. My question is when tenders have been awarded for mining legally, then why is illegal mining going on? And why are these trucks being allowed to come into the village?” a villager says.

But for an area with few employment opportunities, sand mining is a source of income. “Apart from jobs, villagers whose land falls on the sand trucks’ daily route also get a commission of Rs 50 to Rs 100. We just go about their work quietly,” says a local villager.