New Delhi, Sept. 24 -- The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought a report from the Rajasthan government on the death of a forest ranger who was allegedly dragged by a dumper while trying to stop the vehicle in Pratapgarh district, after the incident was cited before the court during its monitoring of illegal sand mining in the Chambal sanctuary. The matter was brought to the apex court's notice by amicus curiae and senior advocate Nikhil Goel, who said illegal mining was continuing despite the court's directions and that a forest officer had lost his life while implementing them. A bench headed by justice Vikram Nath, along with justices AG Masih and Sandeep Mehta, directed the matter to be listed on October 6 and asked the Rajasthan government to inform it about the action taken following the incident. Goel said forest ranger Pratap Singh Chundawat, posted in Pratapgarh, was dragged by a dumper on the night of September 21 when he tried to flag down the vehicle on suspicion that it was involved in illegal mining. He later died during treatment. Goel shared a news report on the incident with Rajasthan additional advocate general Shiv Mangal Sharma. Sharma, however, told the court that the incident had no connection with the Chambal sanctuary and was not a case of illegal sand mining. He said police had found that the dumper was carrying soil that had been illegally dug near a pond using a JCB machine. A case was registered and a manhunt was launched for the driver. Sharma said action had been taken and a detailed action-taken report would be filed before the next hearing. The court had taken suo motu cognisance of illegal sand mining in the Chambal Gharial Sanctuary and issued directions to Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, which share its boundaries. The states were asked to increase surveillance, track illegal mining routes and provide protection to frontline forest staff. In its July 22 order, the apex court also directed the states to consider preventive detention against the kingpins of organised gangs involved in illegal sand mining. On May 25, a report published by HT showed that despite court orders, mining continued unabated near the Chambal river. The court took cognisance of the report, which found that the Chambal riverbank inside the sanctuary, once the nesting site for the critically endangered gharials and accounting for nearly 80-90% of the entire global wild gharial population, was found to be degraded, with deep pits pockmarking the floodplain landscape. As part of its monitoring, the top court sought assistance from the Central Empowered Committee (CEC), which highlighted the risks faced by forest officials confronting sand-mining gangs. The CEC in its report, recommended extending legal protection to forest officers in the three states, citing similar notifications in Odisha and Assam. It said that section 218(3) of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) requires prior sanction to prosecute a public servant charged with an offence committed in discharge of official duty. Senior advocate Nikhil Goel assisting the court as amicus curiae along with advocate Rupali Samuel had earlier pointed out that the pace at which sand from the Chambal river is being extracted will have disastrous consequences on the surrounding ecosystem and human habitations. Following the court's monitoring, the CEC noted improvement on the ground but stressed upon timely filling of vacancies of forest guards, sustained financial support for surveillance infrastructure, periodic technological upgradation, regular ecological monitoring, strict district-level accountability, continuous inter-state coordination and adequate legal protection for frontline forest personnel....