A judicial probe was ordered by the Madhya Pradesh government into the killing of a young IPS officer allegedly by the mining mafia in a horrific incident which the state police on Friday said did not appear ‘pre-planned’ at this stage.
The probe was announced by MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan amid allegations by the father of 30-year-old Narendra Kumar Singh that there was a ‘well-planned conspiracy’ against his son who did not receive cooperation of local police and authorities.
In a killing that triggered an outrage, the 2009-batch IPS officer was crushed under the wheels of a tractor-trolley driven by an alleged member of the mining mafia at Banmore in Morena district yesterday when he tried to stop the vehicle carrying stones.
The driver identified as Manoj Gurjar has been arrested and a case registered under section 302 (murder) of the IPC.
Kumar was cremated at his native village, about 50 km from Mathura, with full state honours in the presence of thousands of mourners. His sobbing wife Madhurani Tewati, an IAS officer posted in Gwalior and currently on maternity leave, lit the funeral pyre.
Kumar, who was posted at Banmore as Sub Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) a month ago, was to join his wife from tomorrow.
Amid scenes of uncontrolled grief, Kumar's wife and family members at his native village were in a state of deep shock as Holi celebrations turned tragic.
"We salute the young IPS officer for his daredevilry in checking illegal mining. We have ordered a judicial probe into the incident," Chouhan told reporters in Bhopal after reviewing the matter with Chief Secretary Avni Vaish and DGP Nandan Dubey at the state Secretariat.
The state police said the killing was a case of murder but it did not appear ‘pre-planned’ at this stage.
"Till now, we do not have any evidence to indicate that the killing of Narendra Kumar Singh was a planned act," Chambal Range's DIG D P Gupta told reporters in Gwalior.
Kumar's father Keshav Dev said the killing was a ‘well-planned conspiracy’.
"He did not receive cooperation of the local police. He stopped vehicles carrying stones for check. Is it the work of the IPS officer, or the work of a thana-level police?" Dev said.