The ED says it engaged experts in determining the quantum of illegal sand mined as the Investigating Officer could not be an expert on mining and survey aspects.
| Photo Credit: C. VENKATACHALAPATHY
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has dismissed the allegations of the Tamil Nadu government that the experts’ report on the quantum of sand mining in the State was “illegal”. It has submitted a rejoinder to the allegations that the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Kanpur, had no jurisdiction to operate in the State and that drone rules were violated by the team of experts while assessing the extent of sand mines in October-November 2023, official sources said.
The ED said it had engaged the services of experts in determining the quantum of illegal sand mining and the proceeds/profits generated therefrom as the Investigating Officer could not be an expert on mining and survey aspects. As an Investigating Agency functioning as per the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the ED could seek assistance of experts from anywhere in the country. “The evidence provided by experts are legally admissible evidence permissible under the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, and the corresponding Section 39 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023,” the agency said.
The evidentiary value of the expert opinion was a matter for trial and not a ground for the State or the police to refuse registration of the case. “The respondent police cannot act as an appellate court over an expert scientific report to deny the existence of a crime,” the ED said.
Prior permission
Investigators said the experts who assessed the quantum of sand mines at permitted sites did not require anybody’s permission or licence to assist a criminal investigating agency at a crime scene. “The sand mining sites where illegal mining is going on are crime scenes for a criminal investigating agency.”
Seeking to dismiss the allegations of the State, the ED said the contention that the survey conducted by Terraqua UAV Solutions (the company incubated at IIT-Kanpur) was unreliable “is only a justification to ignore illegal mining. This shows that the State government is abetting illegal mining or has interests in protecting the same.” The State’s argument that the scientific report was invalid merely because Prof. Rajiv Sinha (the expert head who signed the report) had not personally visited the mining sites was misconceived and showed a lack of understanding of how scientific surveys and expert bodies functioned.
Prof. Rajiv Sinha was the founder of the expert company and his presence was not required to do the survey. In any large-scale technical survey involving advanced technology, the Principal Investigator or Head of the Survey would only design the methodology, oversee the protocols, and analyse the data collected, the sources quoted the ED as saying in the report. It was standard scientific practice for the field team to collect the raw data (ground control points) while the experts analysed the same to prepare the final findings. “The validity of the report stems from the integrity of the data and the scientific method of analysis,” it said.
The State, instead of registering the case and stopping illegal sand mining, had been investing all its resources to prove that the expert report was not reliable. “It is also sending intimidating letters to the expert (Terraqua UAV Solutions) questioning as to whether any licence/permission was taken to conduct the survey at the sand mining sites,” the agency alleged.
On the point that IIT-Kanpur had acted outside its zone, the ED said the jurisdiction was not that of the institution but the investigating agency. The assistance of the experts was taken by the jurisdictional zone of the ED to investigate offences of money laundering in Tamil Nadu. The ED was not barred under any law/rule to engage expert assistance from any part of the country in support of its investigation.
‘IIT-M refused to assist’
Given that the allegations of illegal mining involved potential collusion by local State officials, it was necessary and prudent for the ED to engage an independent, reputed expert body rather than relying on local agencies, which could be subjected to conflict of interest. When ED approached IIT-Madras, the institution refused to assist the agency. The ED also dismissed allegations that there was violation of rules in flying drones during the survey. Till date there was neither any complaint nor inquiry into the alleged violations.
Published – December 27, 2025 12:02 am IST
