BHOPAL: State PWD minister Gopal Bhargava on Sunday joined the sit-in staged against his own government in Dhana village of Sagar district by a tribal family. The tribal had died on Saturday.
The deceased Maniram Adivasi is the husband of woman sarpanch of Dudhonia. His tractor was seized by the forest ranger a month before. Since then, he was visiting forest department office regularly. There are allegations that ranger was demanding money to release the tractor.
On Saturday, he again met the ranger and asked him to release the tractor but the latter did not agree. After returning from the office, he felt pain in the chest and was admitted at the district hospital where he died. The family members and the villagers blocked Sagar- Rehli Road since Sunday morning and staged a sit-in at Hilgan crossing.
The minister rushed to the spot when he came to know of the incident at 9 pm. He also sat at the road and supported the family and assured that if the demands of the family are not met, he too will join the sit-in.
He also assured the family of police action against the ranger and promised financial support from the government. District collector Deepak Singh has ordered magisterial enquiry into the matter and sit-in ended. He told Free Press that ADM will conduct inquiry though police have also registered a case.
A financial aid of Rs 5,000 was given to the family under the government scheme. Under Rashtriya Pariwar Sahayata Yojana, Rs 25,000 will be provided and a proposal of Rs 4 lakh will be prepared for release under CM Discretionary Fund.
Nath tweets
Former chief minister Kamal Nath tweeted to highlight the rising cases against Dalits in the state after the formation of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government. He added that recently in Guna two cases came to light where Dalits are thrashed and in Sagar a tribal died as he was not able to pay the bribe.
