Protecting Wildlife
The death of eight elephants in Bandhavgarh National Park, Madhya Pradesh, likely due to consuming fungus-infected kodo millet, underscores a profound and growing challenge in India’s conservation landscape.
A patwari rank revenue official lost his life to unbridled sand mafia. He was crushed under a tractor-trolley used for ferrying illegally mined sand when the official tried to stop the tractor at around midnight on Saturday in the Shahdol district of Madhya Pradesh.
According to police officials, Patwari Prasann Singh intercepted the tractor-trolley near the Son River in the Gopalpur area of Shahdol. He was with a patrol team when the incident occurred.
On stopping the tractor-trolley, the driver of the vehicle accelerated its speed and crushed him under the wheels. The patwari died on the spot while the driver sped away along with the illegally mined sand.
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The police were informed and Shahdol ADG D C Sagar announced a reward of Rs 30,000 on the head of the absconding culprit. Police teams began searching for the driver and the vehicle.
According to Shahdol SP Kumar Prateek, the police managed to trace the driver and arrested him on Sunday morning. The accused has been identified as Shubham Vishwakarma (25). The police also impounded the tractor-trolley used in the crime.
Police officials said the accused driver has been booked for murder under Section 302 of the IPC and the owner of the tractor is also likely to be booked.
The deceased Prasann Singh was posted as Patwari in the Khadda area of Bohari tehsil.
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