The tractor that crushed forest guard to death captured by CCTV in Mdhya Pradesh
Highlights
- The driver fled the spot after killing the guard
- The guard had tried to stop a tractor, carrying sand in Morena
- Locals allege mining mafia in the state is supported by politicians
A forest officer was run over by men who were illegally transporting sand in Madhya Pradesh's Chambal area on Friday. The guard had tried to stop a tractor, carrying sand in Morena, the police told NDTV.
Subedar Singh Khushwaha, 40, a deputy ranger, was posted at the Ghorna forest chowki along with four other forest department personnel. When the guards tried to stop the tractor laden with sand, the driver sped and tried to flee, crushing Khushwaha," Amit Sanghi, senior police officer in Morena told NDTV.
The forest guards immediately took him to the hospital, where the doctors declared Kushwaha brought dead.
The driver fled the spot after killing the guard. The police are trying to analyse the CCTV footage to identify the driver.
Locals allege that the mining mafia in Madhya Pradesh is supported by local politicians. The state government says it's a matter of concern, but blamed the earlier Congress government, 15 years ago, did little to crackdown on the mining mafia.
"The data that is being talked about is a matter of concern but when we came to power we used to get Rs 600 crore as revenue and today it's more than Rs 4500 crores. We acted against the mafia, which was being protected during Congress regime," said state minister for mineral resources, Rajendra Shukla.
Opposition Congress accused Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan of going easy on the mining mafia. "Here illegal mining is being done by the family members of the Chief Minister... if we are earning Rs 4500 crore as revenue then illegal mining must be more than that...the minister should answer whose dumpers are running... under who's name are they registered," said KK Mishra, state Congress leader.
Madhya Pradesh is second only to Maharashtra in the list of illegal mining cases registered in the country in 2016-17. While Maharashtra recorded 31,173 illegal mining cases, Madhya Pradesh saw 13, 880 cases and Andhra Pradesh recorded 9, 703 cases as per a parliamentary report.
The mining mafia in Chambal region this year have killed journalist Sandeep Sharma, who reportedly exposed the alleged nexus between the police and the illegal miners. He was run over by a dumper in Bhind. Last year, an IAS officer Sonia Meena was allegedly threatened at gun point by the mining mafia in Chhattarpur.