IPS officer's killing shifts illegal mining focus to Madhya Pradesh

NEW DELHI/BHOPAL/GWALIOR: BJP's Madhya Pradesh government came under attack from political parties on Friday, a day after the brutal killing of a young IPS officer allegedly by the mining mafia.

The state government ordered a judicial probe, amid allegations that IPS officer Narendra Kumar Singh was the victim of a conspiracy. The case drew parallels with the gruesome deaths of Satyendra Dubey and Manjunath, both upright officers and whistleblowers, who were murdered on duty.

The probe into the incident that has sparked an outrage was announced by chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, a day after 30-year-old Narendra Kumar Singh was crushed under the wheels of a tractor-trolley driven by an alleged member of the mining mafia at Banmore in Morena district when he tried to stop the vehicle carrying illegally quarried stones.

Kumar's father Keshav Dev alleged the killing was the result of a conspiracy. He said the local police and other authorities had refused to cooperate with him. "He stopped vehicles carrying stones for check. Is it the work of the IPS officer, or the work of a thana-level police," asked a distraught Dev.

The state police said it was a case of murder but did not appear 'planned' at this stage. The driver identified as Manoj Gurjar has been arrested and a case registered under Section 302 (murder) of the IPC.

Narendra Kumar was not the only state police official targeted on Holi day. In neighbouring Bhind, additional superintendent of police Jaidevan A escaped with injuries in an attack when he tried to close liquor shops which had opened on a dry day.

Former BJP legislator, Narendra Singh Kushwaha, was reportedly found involved in the incident. In the third incident, inspector Raghuram Prasad was killed while assistant sub-inspector RB Goyal was critically injured in an attack by unidentified persons while on patrol in Khairgaon district.

Chambal Range's DIG DP Gupta told reporters in Gwalior, "Till now, we do not have any evidence to indicate that the killing of Narendra Kumar Singh was a planned act."

The opposition Congress demanded a CBI probe, a plea rejected by the BJP-ruled government. Terming the killing very unfortunate, Congress accused the BJP government of patronising corruption. "We have been saying that this is the way BJP fights against corruption. The whole country knows what is happening in Karnataka and now the Madhya Pradesh government has found a new way to fight corruption," said Congress spokesperson Rashid Alvi.

Congress held demonstrations in several parts of the state and has announced a statewide bandh on March 13. Congress leader Digvijaya Singh alleged the involvement of Chouhan and other BJP leaders in illegal mining.

Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal called for a stringent whistleblower protection law. "When will this stop? System supports corrupt people and victimises those fighting them," Kejriwal said on micro-blogging site Twitter. Kiran Bedi, a former IPS officer and another member of Team Anna, said: "Corrupt politician-politicised bureaucracy, weak police leadership creates life threatening crime situations for brave young IPS entrants."