A police station in-charge was killed late on Sunday night after a truck suspected of carrying illicit liquor ran over him during an interception operation on the Harda-Nemawar highway in Madhya Pradesh's Dewas district, officials said on Monday. Khategaon police station in-charge Dilip Puri died on the spot after the rear wheel of the truck ran over him.

Source: IANS via BizzBuzz

Puri, a sub-inspector of the 2007 batch, was part of an operation mounted after police received information that a truck loaded with liquor was travelling from Harda towards Gujarat via Indore. Dewas Superintendent of Police Aditya Mishra had formed more than five police teams, including the station in-charges of Kannod, Satwas and Khategaon, to intercept the vehicle, officials involved in the operation said.

Source: Nation Press

Driver stopped for water, then tried to flee

Reports said the truck driver had stopped on the Harda-Nemawar highway to drink water when Puri reached the spot and asked him to step down from the vehicle. After an argument, the driver allegedly tried to flee with the truck; Puri fell in the process and the rear wheel passed over him, causing fatal injuries.

Source: IANS via The Freedom Press

Police have seized the truck, bearing registration number MP 43 H 4786 and loaded with liquor, and arrested the driver. According to officials involved in the operation, Rahul Jaiswal of Harda has been identified in connection with the alleged liquor-smuggling network. Police are investigating whether the driver deliberately ran over the officer or the death resulted from reckless driving during the escape bid. Puri had earlier served at the Hira Nagar and Chandan Nagar police stations in Indore.

Source: Nation Press

A district already scarred by the liquor trade

The killing has refocused attention on Dewas district's illicit-liquor problem. Between September 27 and October 16, at least 13 people died in the district's Chandana and Binjana villages; families alleged spurious liquor, a link the district administration has disputed. Senior Congress leader Arun Yadav alleged that the SHO's death showed a deteriorating law-and-order situation in the state and demanded an explanation from Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, Nation Press reported.