ASI crushed to death by illegal sand miner in MP’s Shahdol: Police
ASI Mahendra Bagri posted at the Byahari police station died on the spot, said police, adding that the tractor driver identified as Raj Rawat, is absconding
Bhopal: An assistant sub-inspector (ASI) was crushed to death by a man driving a tractor-trolley laden with illegally mined sand in Madhya Pradesh’s Shahdol district on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday, police said.
ASI Mahendra Bagri posted at the Bahri police station died on the spot, said police, adding that the tractor driver identified as Raj Rawat, has been arrested.
Police said they have also arrested one Ashutosh Singh, son of Surendra Singh, the truck owner and an illegal sand miner.
All three have been booked under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code, police said.
Since the night of the incident, Surendra Singh has been absconding and a reward of Rs.30,000 has been announced for sharing information about his whereabouts, said police.
He was previously arrested in August 2023 in connection with an illegal sand mining case.
Shahdol superintendent of police (SP) Kumar Prateek said, “Bagri along with ASI Gaya Prasad Kannauje and constable Sanjay Dubey had gone to Baroli village to arrest an accused absconding in a criminal case. Meanwhile, a tractor-trolley was seen coming from the front near Khadhauli village. Bagri waved his hand to stop it, but the driver crushed him and took the tractor-trolley forward.”
After crushing the ASI, the accused jumped off the tractor and absconded. The tractor went out of control and fell from the bridge.
Meanwhile, a controversy erupted on conducting his postmortem on the floor in Bahri Civil Hospital. Requesting anonymity, a policeman said, “Bagri sacrificed his life while serving his duty and he was not given respect even after death. His postmortem was conducted by lying his body on a floor”.
Bahri sub-divisional magistrate Narendra Singh Dhurve said they were investigating the matter.