Dewas: A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to probe the alleged liquor smuggling network and identify those involved in the illegal transportation of liquor after a police station in-charge was crushed to death by a truck in Madhya Pradesh’s Dewas district, a senior police officer said on Monday.
Dewas Superintendent of Police Aditya Mishra said the SIT would investigate the source of the liquor, its intended destination and the possible involvement of other members of the smuggling network.
The probe follows the death of Khategaon police station in-charge Dilip Puri, who was run over by a truck while attempting to intercept it during an operation against alleged liquor smuggling late on Sunday night.
Additional Superintendent of Police, Soumya Jain, confirmed Puri’s death. According to police, information was received about a truck allegedly transporting liquor illegally from Harda towards Gujarat via Indore.
More than five police teams, comprising personnel from Khategaon, Kannod and Satwas police stations, were formed to intercept the vehicle.
“A very shocking and unfortunate incident took place yesterday in the Khategaon police station area of Dewas district. The Station House Officer and SHOs of several nearby police station areas had received information about illegal smuggling or illegal transportation of alcohol. To verify the information, around five teams were formed, including teams from Nemawar, Kannod and Satwas,” SP Aditya Mishra told IANS.
The teams were tracking the truck and had also erected barricades at different locations to stop it. During the operation, the truck driver reportedly stopped on the Harda-Nemawar highway to drink water.
When Puri approached him and asked him to get down, the driver allegedly attempted to flee, leading to a confrontation.
Puri fell to the ground during the incident and the truck’s rear wheel ran over him, killing him on the spot.
Police seized the truck, bearing registration number MP 43 H 4786. Liquor was allegedly found concealed in a compartment in the vehicle.
The driver was initially reported to have been detained, though the circumstances surrounding his arrest are being investigated.
Police have also come across the name of Rahul Jaiswal, a Harda resident, during the preliminary investigation.
The possible involvement of liquor smugglers from Dewas is also being examined.
Puri, a 2007-batch Sub-Inspector, was serving as the Khategaon police station in-charge. He had earlier served at Heera Nagar and Chandan Nagar police stations in Indore.
After the postmortem, the body of Dilip Puri was kept at Khategaon police station where local residents and police personnel paid their respects as he was accorded a guard of honour.
(IANS)
