Madhya Pradesh: Narmada Bachao Andolan activists attacked by local sand mafia

On the morning of June 12, Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) activists were attacked by members of the local sand mafia in Madhya Pradesh’s Barwani.

According to NBA, “activists spotted members of the local sand mafia in action at Rajghat on the banks of river Narmada in Barwani”. Upon finding three tractors full of illegal sand, five activists chased the tractors in their car.

During the chase, the tractors started emptying the sand; two of them successfully escaped. Meanwhile, the activists continued pursuing the last truck. “Finally, around 30 goons from the sand mafia surrounded NBA activists and began pelting them with huge stones. It was a very dangerous situation as the five activists were greatly outnumbered by the violent sand mafia,” sources in the NBA stated.

In a video shared by the activists, the goons can be seen pelting stones at the car and chasing the activists on their bikes. No injuries occurred during the face off, but the window of the activists’ car was smashed, NBA stated.

This comes a day after social activist Medha Patkar told Hindustan Times that NBA activists were being threatened.