bhopal, April 8
Aforest guard died after he was run over by a tractor trolley laden with illegally-mined sand driven by members of the sand mafia while trying to escape a Forest Department team in the Morena district of Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday. The incident occurred at the Ranpur village crossroads. A team of six forest personnel had set up a checkpoint on the road after getting information about transportation of illegally-mined sand from there. When the team saw a sand-laden tractor trolley approaching, it waved it to stop for checking. However, as the tractor tried to escape Forest Guard Harkesh Gurjar came forward to stop it but the driver sped away running over him. He died on the spot. The brazen killing of a government employee sparked political outrage in the state with the Opposition Congress launching a scathing attack on the BJP government, alleging that there was no rule of law in the state. Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly Umang Singhar claimed that criminals are roaming freely without the fear of the police in the absence of law and order in the state. Meanwhile, the forest personnel informed the police about the incident identifying the accused tractor driver as Vinod Kori. The joint owners of the tractor, identified as Sonu Chauhan and Pawan Tomar, were also named as accused in the police complaint lodged by the Forest Department. According to SP Sameer Saurabh, a case has been registered and a search is on to nab the absconding accused.
