New Delhi: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday has ordered the transfer of the local superintendent of police (SP) in connection with the alleged lynching of two tribals over suspicion of cow slaughter in Madhya Pradesh’s Seoni on May 3, and directed to set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter. Sampat Bhatti from Sagar village and Dhansa Inwati of Simaria village were allegedly assaulted by a group of 15-20 people, said to be belonging to the Bajrang Dal, leading to their death later.
According to a report by news agency PTI, CM Chouhan ordered the transfer of Seoni SP Kumar Prateek and asked to form an SIT for investigation, a statement from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said.
Chouhan has also said that the accused have been nabbed and compensation has been given to the bereaved families. Jobs for the legal heirs of the deceased are also being arranged, he said.
As per the statement, the entire staff of Kurai police station and Badalpur police post, under whose jurisdiction the incident happened, have been removed on the CM’s orders.
Meanwhile, Congress state chief Kamal Nath said that CM Chouhan took the action under pressure from the tribals and the opposition.
Alleging that organisations associated with the BJP were behind the incident, Nath said that government had been trying to give a clean chit to the administration. He added that the guilty officials should be suspended and a high-level probe should be conducted.
Notably, a special team, including Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Rajesh Rajora, Additional Director General (ADG) of Police Akheto Sema and Shrikant Bhanot, Secretary, MP Board of Secondary Education, has been formed to look into the incident and submit a report on how these can be checked, the PTI report said.
The team is set to arrive on a two-day visit on Monday, the official added.