Police action: Former Minister M. Diwakar Babu and mine owner Tapal Ganesh (right) being taken away by policemen at Tumti in Sandur Taluk on Sunday. BELLARY: The former Minister and Congress leader M. Diwakar Babu and Tapal Ganesh of TNR Mines were arrested on Sunday for defying prohibitory orders and attempting to resume mining at Tumti village in Sandur taluk of Bellary district. Armed with an interim order issued by the Dharwad circuit Bench of the Karnataka High Court, which permitted TNR Mines to continue mining in the area leased to it, Mr. Ganesh and Mr. Diwakar Babu went to Tumti to resume mining. But policemen led by H.Y. Turai, Deputy Superintendent of Police of Kudligi Sub-Division, prevented them stating that they could not take up mining as the area had not been leased to them. Surprised by the police action, Mr. Ganesh and Mr. Diwakar Babu said that they were in the area, which had been leased to them. They showed the court order and a copy of the sketch indicating that the area belonged to TNR Mines. But Mr. Turai said that according to a statement given by a surveyor of the Department of Mines and Geology after a joint survey recently, the area belonged to another mining company and they would not be permitted to take up mining. This led to an argument between Mr. Ganesh and the police officer. Subsequently, the police arrested Mr. Ganesh and Mr. Diwakar Babu. Prohibitory orders were imposed on September 9 and extended till September 28 by the Sandur tahasildar based on a police report to prevent any opposition to a joint survey of the mining areas at Tumti. Addressing presspersons at the mining area, Mr. Diwakar Babu said that TNR Mines had mining lease and had been mining since 1969. Following a boundary dispute, TNR Mines approached the High Court and submitted relevant documents and the sketch of the area leased to it. Based on that, the court permitted to take up mining. He sought to know how they could be prevented from going to their mining area.