Deputy Superintendent of Police, Tauru, Surender Singh Bishnoi was allegedly run over by a dumper truck carrying stones at an illegal mining site in Haryana’s Nuh on Tuesday. The accused truck driver was later arrested after he was injured in a brief encounter with the police.
Also read: Mining mafia flourishing in Haryana, says Bhupinder Hooda
The incident took place around noon when Mr. Singh along with his staff mounted a raid at the mining site following a tip-off during routine patrolling. He along with his team were chasing to the dumper truck carrying the stones on a hillock in Panchgaon, but both vehicles soon pulled over with boulders blocking the road ahead. “
At this point, Mr. Singh got down from the police vehicle and walked up to the dumper truck. However, the truck driver reversed the vehicle and ran him over. He died on the spot and the accused driver sped away,” said Krishan Kumar, Nuh Police spokesperson.
Ex-gratia announced
Mr. Singh, a resident of Adampur in Hisar, had joined Haryana Police as Assistant Sub-Inspector in 1994 and was slated to retire in October this year. He is survived by his wife, a son and daughter.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal said that directions were given for the strictest possible action in the case and no one would be spared. Mr. Manohar Lal announced ex-gratia of ₹1 crore to the family of the deceased and a government job to the next of the kin.
Mr. Lal said police posts and barricades would be set up near mining sites and in the State and district borders to prevent illegal mining and the destination of the trucks carrying mining material would also be fixed.
Both the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party leaders in Haryana accused the ruling BJP-JJP government of failing to ensure the rule of law.
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Hooda, in a tweet, said “the murder of DSP Surender Bishnoi shows that the rule of mafia has been established in the State. No one is safe in this ‘jungle raj’, be it the public, the legislators or the police itself. The government should stop protecting the mafia.”
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the murder of the police officer was the result of the failure of entire government system.
NGT petition
Aravalli Bachao Citizens Movement, a citizens group, had filed a petition before the National Green Tribunal in May this year alleging illegal mining at 16 locations in Aravalis, including Nuh district.
The NGT, in its May 23 order, had constituted a joint committee of the representatives of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Central Pollution Control Board, State Pollution Control Board and Director General of Police among others and directed them to meet within four weeks and undertake site visits for factual verification. The committee was directed to furnish the report within three months. The DGP was also directed to provide information on the FIRs registered in connection with illegal mining.
Jyoti Raghavan from Aravalli Bachao Citizens Movement said the group members had documented illegal stone and sand mining locations in Gurugram, Nuh and Faridabad over the past one year. She expressed hope that the murder of the police officer would be a wakeup call for the Haryana government authorities to take tough steps to deal with such unlawful mafia elements.
Also, a majority of the trucks involved in illegal mining in the area ply on the Gurugram-Alwar Highway without registration number plates or paint the plates black to avoid identification in case of any traffic violation or accidents. The Nuh Police have issued 754 challans to vehicles without registration number plates till June 30 this year. Similarly, 2,388 vehicles have been challaned for plying without High Security Registration Number Plate in Nuh this year so far.
