A 35-year-old forest guard was allegedly mowed down by a transport vehicle driven by a fruit vendor in Madhya Pradesh's Singrauli district on Tuesday, prima facie to avenge an old dispute, police said. Police are investigating villagers' claim that the bike was dragged for some distance by the accused driver before he fled the scene with his vehicle.
The incident occurred in Darbari Nala village, around 80 km from the Singrauli district headquarters, this morning, an official said. According to Sub Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Ashish Jain, the guard, identified as Shital Singh Gaud, was en route to his duty on a motorcycle when the accused, Kamlesh Saket, deliberately rammed his pickup truck into Gaud's motorcycle.
"Sheetal Singh Gond, a Forest Guard, we got information that he had an accidental death. Later from the witnesses, we learned that he was hit by a pickup van. The accused tried to show it as suicide. The accused's name is Kamlesh Saket, he is a vegetable vendor...efforts are on to catch the accused," Singrauli SP Nivedita Gupta said.
Kamlesh Saket, a local fruit and vegetable seller, had previously had a dispute with Mr Gaud over pricing, which escalated into a physical altercation.
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In what appears to have been an act of retaliation, Mr Saket allegedly ran his vehicle over Gaud, resulting in the forest guard's death. Following the attack, Kamlesh Saket fled the scene with his vehicle and family, and a search operation is currently underway to apprehend him, the police officer said.
A murder case under the relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita has been registered against Kamlesh Saket. In response to the incident, local villagers staged a protest, alleging that Kamlesh Saket dragged Mr Gaud's body over a considerable distance with his vehicle.