Tribal youth dies after sand mafia crushes him under tractor trolley in Singrauli; Kin blames local BJP leader

Singrauli (Madhya Pradesh): A tractor carrying a cart full of illegally mined sand crushed to death a youth in Madhya Pradesh’s Singrauli district late on Sunday night.

The youth, identified as Indrapal Agriya, died early Monday morning at the district hospital, police said.

The incident took place in Ganni village, under Sarai police station, after the young man told the tractor driver not to enter his farmland.

When his objection enraged the tractor-trolley owner, Lale Baish, president of the BJP’s Gannai unit, he told his men to beat up the youth. Baish and his men then crushed him under the wheels of the tractor-trolley.

The incident took place when Baish was illegally transporting sand from the Pateer River.

When Agriya’s family members got information, they rushed to the spot and took him to a health centre. From there, he was referred to the regional hospital, where he was declared dead.

Additional Commissioner of Police Shiv Kumar Verma said he had received information through the hotline 100 that someone had crushed Agriya, a resident of Gannai, under the wheels of a tractor.

According to Verma, the youth was taken to Sarai health centre where doctors said there were no external injuries on his body. He was then referred to the district hospital where he was declared dead, Verma said.

A case was filed against the perpetrators based on a complaint by the youth’s family. Legal action would be taken against the accused, Verma said.

The war of words between Congress and BJP begins

Congress leader Praveen Singh alleged that a BJP leader was behind the incident.

The police are under pressure from the ruling party, Singh said, adding that the situation in the district has deteriorated.

According to him, the BJP leaders are intimidating the tribals and forest guards.

BJP legislator Rajendra Meshram said the Congress had a habit of blaming the BJP for everything that happened in the state.

He said he had no say in Congress’s allegations because the police were doing their job.