Keonjhar, May 18: Keonjhar district administration has launched a massive operation against sand mafias, marking one of the largest crackdowns in recent years.

Acting on long-standing complaints of unlawful sand mining and smuggling, police special squads carried out simultaneous raids across multiple locations early this morning.

The raids began at 5 am and targeted nearly 12 sites in Anandpur, Ghasipura, Hatadihi, and Ghatagaon regions.

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Residences and hideouts of suspected mafias were searched, yielding significant evidence. Police seized over ₹25 lakh in cash, more than 30 vehicles used for sand transportation, and several forged documents including fake transport permits, bank passbooks, and insurance papers.

Among those raided were Hatadihi Block Vice-Chairman and BJD State Secretary Ratikant Raut, along with other influential figures such as Santosh Nayak of Jalakalang village, Jogendra Behera of Elkania, and Gurubrat Khandei of Shalania. In Anandpur, the house of prominent mafia kingpin Rajaprabhu Das was also searched.

In Ghasipura, raids were conducted at the homes of Ajit Prusti, Sudar Sahu, and Shantanu Nayak. Police teams also inspected properties in Birgovindpur and Amaranga villages, belonging to Soumya Ranjan Mahapatra and Santosh Nayak respectively.

Authorities revealed that these mafias had been operating for years, preparing forged documents to evade detection and causing massive revenue losses to the government. The seized materials are now under verification, and further arrests are expected as investigations continue.

District residents have welcomed the crackdown, noting that illegal sand mining had not only damaged the environment but also disrupted livelihoods.

Officials confirmed that this mega raid is only the beginning, with more operations planned to dismantle the mafia network completely.