MP: Farmer killed in firing during anti-sand mining operation; 9 forest dept staffers booked

Morena, June 13

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A farmer was killed allegedly in a firing by a forest department team during an operation against illegal sand mining and transportation at a village in Madhya Pradesh’s Morena district on Sunday, following which a case was registered against nine personnel of the department, officials said.

The farmer was returning home, when he was killed after the forest team opened fire in a bid to stop a vehicle that was allegedly involved in illegal sand-mining, they said.

“The incident, in which 55-year-old farmer Mahavir Tomar died, occurred in the morning at Amolpur village when the forest team was trying to catch those involved in illegal sand mining and its transportation,” Nagra Police Station in-charge Rampal Singh told reporters.

Nine forest employees were booked after the villagers lodged a complaint following the death of the farmer, he said.

After the incident, the forest team fled from the spot, leaving their vehicle behind. The villagers ransacked the vehicle and staged a road block demanding the arrest of those involved in the firing, Singh added.

Sub Divisional Officer of Forest, Shraddha Pander, said that based on a tip-off about the illegal sand mining activity, a joint team of forest and police reached Nagra in the morning.

On seeing the team, the people involved in the illegal sand mining fled from the spot. The forest team followed the tractor-trolley involved in illegal activity, she said.

When that tractor-trolley turned towards Amolpur, the team fired at the vehicle’s tyre, in a bid to bring it to a halt, Pander added.

Further information about the incident is being gathered, she said. — PTI