The PUCL strongly condemns the gruesome murder of an IPS probationer, SDPO Narendra Kumar Singh in Morena in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday.
This murder is not an isolated incident and must be seen as a part of a series of crimes committed by the nexus of illegal mining mafia and the local corrupt police and the administration in the state against law abiding citizens and officials.
It should be noted that what was going on in Morena, is also being carried out in the Aravallis in Rajasthan, plateaus of Jharkhand, certain regions of Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Bellary in Karnataka.
Given the lackadaisical attitude of the government in this regard and the political clout being enjoyed by the mafia, it’s a matter of serious concern that the mining mafia in MP are so emboldened that they dared to kill a high rank police officer.
Under the prevailing circumstances, the plight of ordinary citizens living in and around the mining areas, at the hands of mafia could very well be gauged.
As far as the tragic case of Narendra Kumar goes, it becomes obligatory on part of the MP Government to nab the culprits, fix responsibilities and initiate administrative and punitive action against district and state officials in the department of mining, pollution control board, forests and environment, revenue, explosives, transport and of course the Police, without whose connivance such heinous crime would not have occurred.
PUCL demands a blanket ban on illegal mining in the state of MP and elsewhere in the country which is ruining the environment endangering human and natural lives, review of all mining leases and strong regulatory and supervisory mechanism for checking the illegal mining and the crimes associated with it.