In a shocking incident, three policemen were shot dead by armed poachers at a village in Guna district of Madhya Pradesh on Saturday.
The Home Ministry promptly removed the IG Gwalior Range Anil Sharma and posted Dr Sriniwas Verma, as Additional Director General of the range.
The police van driver was grievously injured during the incident. The dead bodies were sent to the district hospital after the incident.
State Home Minister Narottam Mishra called the incident unfortunate and affirmed that no culprit will be spared. The ministry announced martyr status for the dead cops and announced Rs 1 crore ex-gratia each for the kin of those dead in the incident.
I am in touch with the DGP since the incident, Home Minister Narottam Mishra said. He added that the police had received a tip off that 7-8 armed poachers were present in the forests of Aron in Guna.
When a police team was sent to the area, the poachers assaulted the team killing SI Ramkumar Jatav, constables Neelesh Bhargav and Santram on the spot. Mishra further said that Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is personally monitoring the case and the Home Minister affirmed that stringent action will be taken against the culprits so that it sets an example for others.
Opposition Congress slammed the Shivraj government over the law-and-order situation in the state. Leader of Opposition Dr Govind Singh called for a high-level probe into the matter and called for the punishment for the guilty. Law and order have collapsed in the state, added Singh.
Rajiv Kumar Mishra the Superintendent of Police Guna said that following a tip off about poachers being present in Aron forest, four police teams were sent to the spot. The policemen spotted 4-5 bikers moving suspiciously in Shahrok forests. As policemen challenged them, they opened fire and the police retaliated.
The police sent the bodies of dead colleagues to district hospital and seized dead deers and peacocks from the spot, said the SP.
Sources claimed that the police had nabbed members of the gang in the past but let them off without taking any action.
According to sources, the outgoing IG Sharma was seen close to Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and the administrative circles were abuzz that the minister had blocked the move to post Verma in Gwalior in the past.
Sharma is a native of Ambah in Morena and is settled in Gwalior before his retirement which is due in around in a year.
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