‘Shameless’: BJP slams Bihar minister's barb on cop being mowed down by tractor

A controversy has erupted after a minister in Bihar government dismissed the incident of a police sub-inspector being mowed down by a tractor carrying illegally mined sand in Jamui district. The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party slammed the minister, calling him ‘shameless’.

“Is this a new incident? Is this the first time this has happened? Doesn't this happen in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh? This incident is a crime... Such incidents occur from time to time and criminals are given befitting replies... The government will do an investigation against this strictly”, Bihar minister Chandra Shekhar was quoted by reporters as saying in Vaishali.

Bihar police sub-inspector Prabhat Ranjan had led a team that set up a barricade near the Chanwar bridge to intercept a tractor carrying illegally mined sand. The police personnel had flagged down the tractor, but the driver floored the pedal and ran over the cops who did not step aside to force the tractor to stop.

Ranjan, who had joined the police force in 2018, was rushed to the hospital but died on its way.

The Bihar BJP took to social media platform X to slam the minister. “This minister of Nitish-Tejashwi government has no sensitivity left in him. Just look at his shamelessness. A policeman was brutally mowed down by a tractor owned by sand mafia. The minister says it is not a new incident. Had he lost a dear one, he would have felt the pain of death”, the BJP posted.

Bihar had witnessed incidents of violent attacks by sand mafia on police personnel and senior officials of the state government. Patna, Saran, Bhojpur, Rohtas, Aurangabad and Vaishali had reported such incidents.

In April this year, three officers, including two women inspectors, of the Mines and Geology department of the Bihar government were attacked by the mafia during a drive against illegal mining in Bihta near Patna.

After the incident, the department decided to provide training on handling arms and how to command force to its 90 inspectors, including around 30 women officers, to counter such attacks in future.