Hamirpur: A major development has emerged in the alleged illegal mining and record manipulation case linked to a stone crusher unit in Hamirpur district.
Police have arrested two key accused, Umesh Sharma and Praveen Kumar, who are the uncle and brother of Ashish Sharma. After the Supreme Court rejected their bail plea, both accused surrendered before the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) court on Wednesday. The court subsequently sent them to one-day police remand, and they will be produced again on Thursday.
According to officials, the accused had earlier approached the Himachal Pradesh High Court seeking bail, but their plea was dismissed. They then moved the Supreme Court, which also denied relief and directed them to surrender within four weeks. As the deadline ended on Wednesday, both accused appeared before the court and surrendered.
The case is related to alleged illegal mining activities in the Sujanpur area, where it is claimed that stone crusher units violated mining regulations and maintained irregular records. During the investigation, police teams led by the Superintendent of Police conducted multiple raids and seized CCTV footage, documents, and digital records, which are considered crucial evidence.
Police sources said that a total of four individuals have been named in the case. While some accused have already received relief from the Supreme Court, Umesh Sharma and Praveen Kumar were denied bail at all levels of the judiciary.
The case was initially registered in August 2025. After completion of the investigation, a report was submitted to the High Court in November 2025, which later rejected all anticipatory bail pleas in December 2025. The matter eventually reached the Supreme Court.
Hamirpur SP Balveer Singh Thakur confirmed that the accused were given a four-week period by the Supreme Court to surrender. After the deadline expired, they appeared before the CJM court and were taken into police custody for remand.
Police will now interrogate the accused further during remand to uncover additional links and investigate other aspects of the alleged illegal mining network.
