Haryana | Locals in Nuh allege harassment by police on pretext of mining crackdown, write to CM

According to some villagers and lawyers, they have written to Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar demanding an inquiry in the DSP murder case.

A group of villagers, residents of villages located around the area where illegal mining takes place in the Nuh district, on Monday alleged that they were being harassed by the police investigating the murder of deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Surendra Singh who was run over by a truck on July 19 in Panchgaon’s Chilla village.

Police personnel inspect the incident site where Tawadu (Mewat) DSP Surendra Singh, died after being allegedly run over by a dumper driver, in Nuh. (ANI)

Residents of at least 40 villages in the district held a meeting on Monday, and said that despite arresting the main suspects in the case, including the driver of the truck, the police were raiding their premises and seizing their vehicles. Lawyers, social workers, and local politicians also participated in the meeting.

According to some villagers and lawyers, they have written to Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar demanding an inquiry in the DSP murder case.

Varun Singla, superintendent of police, refuted the allegations and said that the police teams which are conducting a search operation to nab other suspects, and cracking down against those involved in illegal mining, were not harassing anyone. “We are not harassing any villagers... We have only impounded vehicles for which the owners could not show documents. They have been told that they can reclaim their vehicles, if they can come up with the papers,” Singla said.

DSP Singh was run over by a dump truck in Nuh district’s Pachgaon area on Tuesday. According to the police officers, Singh had gone there to follow up on a tip-off about illegal mining, and had flagged the truck to stop, but the driver crushed him, killing the senior police officer on the spot. The police have arrested nine people in the case so far with 10 police teams conducting a cordon and search operation in 34 villages around the area. According to investigators, more than 300 vehicles have been seized so far from the area for violations of the provisions of Motor Vehicles Act and an additional 60 impounded for violation of the Mining Act.

Shokat Ali, social worker from Punhana’s Khajli Kalan, said, “Police are conducting raids at odd hours, and taking away even those vehicles which are legal and have ownership papers. The villagers are being questioned if they are involved with the mining mafia, and if they helped the suspects who fled after the DSP’s murder,” he said.

Javed Khan, who lives in Tauru, said tractors or trolleys which have any kind of a dent or damage, are being impounded. “Any tractor trolley that has a dent is being suspected to be involved in illegal mining. They are asking us to get lawyers to release the vehicles and levying hefty penalties,” he alleged.

The Congress MLA from Ferozepur, Mamman Khan, who attended Monday’s meeting said that the mining mafia has been active in the region for the past several years. “Why didn’t the police conduct search operations earlier? They could have launched a crackdown, but did not act all these years. Now they are picking up vehicles parked inside the houses, and are used in agriculture,” he said.

The villagers said that if the chief minister did not take any action on their complaint, they would hold a protest and block the main highway. “Additional forces are deployed in the region and they are conducting regular raids. Many people have left their villages fearing police action and are afraid to return. We demand peace be restored in our area and that innocents should not be harassed,” said Rashid Khan, a lawyer from Punhana, who was also present at the meeting.

Senior police officers associated with the investigation said they have been conducting the search operation to nab all suspects involved in the murder case. Asking not to be named, they said that no villager has been harassed and asserted that all vehicles were seized only because of violations of the law.

Meanwhile, the Nuh police have arrested three more suspects in the case, including the owner of the truck. Police said they will produce the suspects before the court on Tuesday, and seek their remand. The police identified them as Arshad, who is the elder brother of the main accused, Sabbir alias Mittar, and Abbas.

A local court on Monday sent Ikram Khan alias Ikkar and Jabid alias Billa — both suspects in the case — to judicial custody. Sabbir and another accused Taufiq alias Bhuru were also produced in court on Monday. While Bhuru was sent to judicial custody, Sabbir’s police remand was extended till Tuesday.

Family says Ikkar mentally unstable

The family of Ikram Khan alias Ikkar, 23, the cleaner of the truck, has demanded his release, saying he was mentally unstable. Khan was arrested following a brief shoot-out within hours of the DSP Singh’s murder. On Saturday, Khan’s lawyer and his family submitted a medical certificate to the police that purportedly showed that the accused has a mental disability.

Mushtaq Khan, a neighbour of Ikkar, said he knew the family, and that the truck cleaner has been mentally unstable since birth. “He, his brother and his mother are all mentally disturbed and are undergoing treatment. They have been declared mentally unstable by the government hospital and they receive a pension. A man who has no knowledge of a weapon or can’t even hold it, how can he threaten policemen at gunpoint and shoot them,” he said.

Ramzan Choudary, counsel for Ikkar, said that his client used to help with loading and unloading cargo from the trucks but was neve involved in mining. “We are demanding an inquiry in the case to know the facts and why he was framed and tortured by the police. His pictures were widely shared by the police teams on social media platforms and he has been defamed,” he said. “The real mining mafia is not in the villages but are working from far away,” he said.

Singla said they have not received any application regarding Ikkar’s disability and added that the court will decide if Ikkar is unstable or not. “We arrested him according to the law system. We are targeting vehicles that are found to be suspicious and parked unattended on roads,” he said.