Jaipur: Illegal bajri trade gave driver a ‘rich’ life

JAIPUR: Right under the nose of the authorities, several tonnes of illegally mined bajri from Sawai Madhopur and Tonk districts enters into the city through major national highways every morning after paying taxes at the toll plazas.
The Pratap Nagar police investigating the attack on RTO flying squad by mafia men in Jagatpura on Saturday have revealed that the main accused Giriraj Yadav ensured that his barji-laden trucks arrive in the city from Sawai Madhopur and Tonk without any hassle from cops or the mining department.“It is shocking that Yadav’s truck travelled from Sawai Madhopur to Jaipur, stopped to pay toll and yet nobody checked what was being supplied in his heavy dumper vehicles,” said an official
The police said that Yadav is a former truck driver who delivered goods across the state and earned a meagre amount Rs 5,000. His luck changed overnight after he began smuggling sand from Tonk and Sawai Madhopur to Jaipur. “Unlike in his previous stint as a truck driver, the accused claimed he could now earn a direct profit of Rs 35,000 in supplying illegally mined bajri across posh areas of the city like Vaishali Nagar, Malviya Nagar, Mansarover etc,” said an official.
Arrested on Saturday late night, the accused said he had struck a rapport with villagers in Datwas in Tonk and Bonli in Sawai Madhopur district. “He used to buy bajri for Rs 15,000 per dumper from villagers. He sold it in the city for a double amount thereby multiplying profits,” said the official. Yadav became so rich in mere six months that he purchased four more dumper trucks to smuggle bajri.
“He set up a warehouse in his Kanota located house where bajri was kept for delivery. He also asked his brother-in-law Kalu to join the illegal trade,” the official told TOI. An official informed TOI that Yadav has lived a rags to riches story. “Before bajri ban he was a simple truck driver but as soon as he joined the smuggling business his bank accounts swelled,” said an official.