IPS officer run over by tractor; mining mafia allegedly involved

Gwalior: The death of Narendra Kumar Singh, an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer who was run over by a tractor allegedly loaded with illegally-mined minerals, is a "clear case of murder," a senior Madhya Pradesh police officer said in Gwalior today. The IPS officer's family has alleged that his killing is a "well-planned conspiracy" by mining mafia and that he "lost his life because of his honesty."

The incident occurred in Madhya Pradesh's Morena district on Thursday afternoon when the 30-year-old officer, who was patrolling the area in his official jeep, noticed a tractor-trolley allegedly loaded with illegally mined stones following which he overtook it and signalled the driver to stop it, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Chambal Range, DP Gupta, told reporters.

However, when the driver did not budge, he again crossed it and this time stood in front of the vehicle in order to bring it to a halt on the spot.

But the tractor driver, identified as Manoj Gurjar, instead of stopping the vehicle, sped and hit the officer, crushing him under the wheels.

Advertisement

Following the incident, the officer was rushed to a hospital in Gwalior, but was declared brought dead, the DIG said.

"We won't call it an accident. Even after he was stopped, the driver crushed the officer with his tractor. It's a clear case of murder. The tractor driver has been arrested and a case has been registered against him," he added.

Advertisement

The 2009 batch IPS officer's family in Mathura is in deep shock. The tragedy is compounded by the fact that the officer and his wife, Madhu Tewatiya, an IAS officer, were expecting their first child. His last rites were performed in Mathura today.

The IPS officer's father, Keshav Singh, has alleged that his son's killing was a "well-planned conspiracy." He has also claimed that that his son received no support from the local police in tackling the mining mafia.

Advertisement

"I can't believe he would be out on a routine patrol on a festival day like Holi. If law and enforcement agencies had acted, this incident would not have happened. It is a well-thought conspiracy. It is clear that it is a well-planned conspiracy. I had told him to be careful. He did not have the support of the thana incharge there. Had there been his support, the thana incharge should have been there. If police was supporting him, then this would not have happened," Mr Singh told NDTV.

DIG Gupta has however denied that there was any negligence on behalf of the police.

Advertisement

Narendra's four sisters are still struggling to come to terms with their loss.  They say he had always been a determined and honest man but these virtues cost him his life.

"He had caught another tractor few days back. He said he had a narrow escape then but that didn't stop him. We kept warning him several times but he never listened to us. His honesty took his life," said one of them, visibly inconsolable.

Advertisement

The young officer was on probation and posted in an area barely 150 km from his village, Lalpur in Mathura. Soon after taking charge, he took on the mining mafia in the district and often seized vehicles carrying illegally mined stones and sand. Sources say he had complained about rampant loot of sand and boulders from Chambal region, but was not getting any support.

The BJP-ruled state government has promised a thorough inquiry into the killing but insists that there is no evidence of mafia involvement yet. "We are looking at whether the murder of the IPS officer was planned or not, it will come out in the investigation," Home Minister Uma Shankar Gupta said.

Opposition Congress however is unwilling to buy that and has already demanded the Home Minister's resignation. Leader of Opposition Ajay Singh has also alleged that Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's government "is patronising mining mafia".

 "At the time of the festival of happiness (Holi), it is the saddest moment in the history of Madhya Pradesh. But it has happened because the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government has not taken any action against illegal mining mafia while we have raised the issue several times," he said. "The illegal mining has taken place in the Chief Minister's constituency... he is patronising mining mafia," he added.

Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh too condemned the incident via Twitter. "Extremely sad to hear about a young IPS officer run down by mining mafia in Morena. Illegal mining flourishing in MP," he posted.

Chief Minister Chouhan told reporters that it was a "sad moment." "The opposition should not try to gain political mileage out of it," he added.

The killing of the young IPS officer who was fighting illegal mining has sent shockwaves across the country and social media sites are inundated with comments condemning the incident.  

But speaking to NDTV, a former top cop voiced his fears that the gory incident "will soon be forgotten."

"That's my assessment that politicians will continue to shed crocodile tears and media will come out with their usual rhetoric. But mining mafia nexus will continue and such innocent officers will continue to be sacrificed in the process," said Prakash Singh, a former DGP from UP.

(With agency Inputs)