Man hit by tractor dies in Madhya Pradesh's Singrauli; Congress, BJP spar over tribal atrocities, sand mafia

Singrauli: A tribal man died after allegedly being hit by a tractor following a dispute in Madhya Pradesh's Singrauli district, police said on Monday.

The incident, which took place on Sunday night, triggered a verbal tussle between the opposition Congress and the ruling BJP over alleged atrocities against tribals and the sand mafia's free run in the state.

"The police helpline 100 got a message on Sunday night about a man being injured in a tractor accident. A police team which reached there found injured person Indrapal Agariya, a resident of Gannai village, with his kin, other villagers and some journalists," said Additional Superintendent of Police Shiv Kumar Verma.

"Agariya was taken to Sarai hospital where doctors said there were no visible injury marks on his body but his condition seems serious. While being referred to the district hospital, he died. His kin have alleged the tractor belonged to one Lale Bansal and claimed his driver hit Agariya with the vehicle resulting in death," the official said.

The kin have claimed the tractor was moving on a road behind the deceased's agricultural land and hit Agariya when he tried to stop the vehicle, the additional SP said, adding further action in the case will be taken after the post mortem report is received.

Asked if the incident involved people associated with the ruling BJP, Verma said all names cropping up are being verified as part of the probe.

Hitting out at the BJP government, state Congress chief Jitu Patwari, in a post on X, said, "Another sensational incident of endless tribal oppression in Madhya Pradesh has now come to light from Singrauli. Sand mafia ran over poor tribal Indrapal Agariya of Gannai village because he refused to let them run over his crop." The accused are associated with the MP BJP and they have been carrying out illegal excavation in the area for years, Patwari alleged and questioned the silence of MP Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, who also handles the home portfolio.

If the oppression of Dalits and tribals continues like this, they will soon be seen openly fighting against the government on the streets, Patwari warned.

State BJP spokesperson Pankaj Chaturvedi said, "The Congress has a habit of making baseless allegations. As evident by the schemes of the Centre and state, the BJP is committed to the development of the tribal community. If a crime is committed, nobody will be spared and law will take its own course." Chaturvedi, however, said he did not have specific knowledge about this incident.