GUWAHATI, Jan 17 - Kuldeep Singh, said to be the main broker who worked for a thriving coal syndicate in the Byrnihat-Khanapara area, was today caught by police from the Survey area of the city.
He had gone into hiding after another broker Sudip Pal was arrested by police recently. A police team led by Basistha ACP Moushumi Kalita laid a trap and arrested him this evening.
Police sources said Kuldeep had been the main broker who was hand-in-glove with a coal syndicate operating on the Byrnihat-Khanapara stretch. Transport companies in the Basistha area operate around 500 trucks on the route and ferry coal from Jaintia Hills in Meghalaya.
Kuldeep is learnt to have confessed before police that he collected money from coal truckers to allow a safe passage on the stretch. He has also allegedly named some staff of the transport department who were also involved in the illegal coal racket.
Kuldeep and his accomplices were spotted occasionally on the Jorabat-Khanapara stretch when the coal trucks plied during the night.
�For example, if ten trucks cross the gates, challans are produced only for a few. The personnel at the gates are managed by the brokers in collusion with transport officials,� a police source said. Moreover, overloaded trucks are also given a safe passage for around Rs 1,000 each truck. Normally, an overloaded truck has to pay a fine of Rs 2,000 and an additional Rs 1,000 for each tonne exceeding the permissible limit of 9 tonnes.
Nearly half a dozen such brokers operate in the area through which the coal syndicate has been thriving. The police said a hunt is on to nab all the brokers, most of whom have been identified.
