Haryana DSP goes out to stop illegal mining, run over by truck he tried to stop

Nuh district police said DSP Surender Singh went to the Pachgaon area after a tip-off about illegal mining and was run over by a dump truck

Gurugram: A Haryana deputy superintendent of police (DSP) following up on a tip-off about illegal mining in Nuh district’s Pachgaon area on Tuesday was allegedly run over by a dump truck that he tried to stop, senior district police officials said.

Haryana Police DSP Surender Singh, who died while trying to stop a dump truck allegedly involved in illegal mining, run over (Haryana Police)

Surender Singh, DSP of Taruru subdivision in Nuh, died on the spot. He was due to retire in four months.

The incident took place at about 12.10pm.

According to the police, Surender Singh, who had gone to the Pachgaon area after receiving a tip-off, got off his police vehicle when he saw a speeding dumper coming from Aravalli side.

“He signalled the driver to stop but the truck ran over the officer,” said Shamsher Singh, DSP Punhana. The driver fled from the spot.

DSP Punhana said Singh was accompanied by his driver and gunman and would regularly patrol the area. Illegal mining is rampant in the area.

“He had earlier impounded several dumpers which were carrying illegal mining sand, dust and stone and a crackdown was on,” Punhana said.

Police teams have been formed and raids are being conducted to identify the driver, said police.

In a tweet, the Haryana Police pledged to bring the guilty to justice.

“DSP Taoru Sh Surender Singh laid down his life today in the course of duty. #HaryanaPolice extends its deepest condolences to the bereaved family of the brave officer. No effort shall be spared in bringing the offenders to face justice,” the state police said in a post on Twitter.

Haryana home minister Anil Vij said he has issued instructions to deploy as many police personnel as needed to track down the accused.

No one will be spared, Vij said, a point reiterated by chief minister Manohar Khattar who also announced a ₹1 crore ex-gratia to the officer’s family and a job to his next of kin. “In the murder case of Tauru DSP Surendra Singh, orders have been given to take strict action. Not a single culprit will be spared,” Khattar said in a tweet in Hindi.

BJP MP from Sirsa Brijendra Singh called Surender Singh’s killing a “cold-blooded murder” by the mining mafia.

“The killing of a senior police officer in such a manner is not at all acceptable. The state government should take immediate action to send a loud and clear message to the criminal elements in the state,” he told reporters outside Parliament.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal also tweeted his condolence and called the police officer’s death a “failure of the entire government system. “Extremely sad. The murder of a police officer in Haryana is the result of the failure of the entire government system in Haryana. How will the public be safe where the police is not safe? May the soul of the martyr police officer rest in peace and may God give courage to the family in this hour of grief,” Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi

Retired police officer and former Goa Lt Governor Kiran Bedi tweeted her advice to the police for the future, advocating use of drones and internet-connected cameras to track illegal mining.

“Senior police officer been mowed down by organised crime of illegal mining in Haryana demands deployment of drones at regular intervals and internet connected cameras mounted on heavy vehicles to patrol/monitor from control rooms. Rather than direct vulnerabilities,” she said.

DSP Surender Singh was recruited as an assistant sub-inspector on April 12, 1994. He was a native of Sarangpur village of Hisar and lived with his family in Kurukshetra.

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