Bhubaneswar: The Crime Branch on Saturday arrested a sand mafia from Mayurbhanj district for his alleged involvement in illegal sand smuggling at Betanati and Badasahi areas of the district.
Apart from involving in illegal sand mining, the accused Khageswar Behera was also accused of extorting money from local traders.
A Crime Branch team caught Khageswar when he was roaming at Betanati.
According to sources, the then Tehsildar of Betanati and Khageswar allegedly threatened a truck owner in 2020. The tehsildar was suspended in that case and several others including Khageswar were booked in that case.
Similarly, videos of Khageshwar claiming to be a tehsildar’s close aide and collecting money from various sand ghat owners had gone viral.
