Mumbai, Apr 2 (IANS): Two Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) politicians, including the city unit head of Maharashtra's Roha town, have been booked for allegedly threatening a local official who tried to stop illegal sand dredging, police said.

According to police, the incident occurred just after midnight Sunday when Roha tehsildar Ganesh Sangle went to inspect a site where the sand mafia was illegally taking out sand from a creek.

Sangle's vehicle was menacingly surrounded by the mafia while two political activists, Nitin Parab and Manoj Shinde, allegedly pointed a pistol at him and ordered him to leave the place.

Sangle retreated and lodged a police complaint at 3 a.m. after which the authorities swung into action.

Expressing "serious concern", NCP minister Sunil Tatkare, who hails from the coastal Konkan region, announced suspension of Parab, the Roha town NCP chief.

Peasants and Workers Party legislator from Raigad Meenakshi Patil raised the issue in the assembly.