Shahdol,:
A police officer was run over by a tractor carrying illegally mined sand in Madhya Pradesh late last night, police said.
Mahendra Bagri, Assistant Sub-Inspector Shahdol, along with two constables, Prasad Kanoji and Sanjay Dubey, had gone to the site to check illegal mining in the area.
He was crushed when he tried to stop the speeding tractor with sand.
Mahendra Bagri died on the spot, while Mr. Kanoji and Mr. Dubey somehow managed to escape unhurt.
Officials said the driver and son of the truck owner have been arrested, while the tractor owner is on the run. “The driver of the tractor has been arrested and investigations are underway. The investigation revealed that the son of the tractor owner was also involved. He has also been arrested,” DC Sagar, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Shahdol said.
Police have announced a reward of Rs 30,000 for any information leading to the truck's owner, Surendra Singh.
A case has been registered against the driver's father-son duo and the sand mafia – Ashutosh Singh and Surendra Singh, officials said.
Illegal sand mining is rampant in Madhya Pradesh, with hundreds of dumpers transporting sand from the banks of the Son River.
Last November, a tax official was crushed to death by a tractor allegedly belonging to the sand mafia in Shahdol.
Prasann Singh was crushed when he tried to stop a truck carrying illegally mined sand near Son River.
Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Agriculture Minister Aidal Singh Kansana was recently caught on camera saying that no action will be taken against the sand mafia after the Lok Sabha elections. “No stones will be thrown at anyone after the elections. No one's tractor loaded with sand or stones will be caught after the elections. If anyone's tractor is grabbed, call me,” he said while addressing a gathering in Gwalior.