Morena (Madhya Pradesh): A Dial-112 driver was chased and beaten by members of the sand mafia after he allegedly refused to pay them for the sand purchased earlier on Tuesday in Morena.
A video of the incident has also surfaced. It shows him being beaten in the middle of the road while the Dial-112 vehicle stands nearby without helping.
Watch the video below :
The driver, Devdutt Maheshwari, was off-duty at the time. The attackers claimed that he had earlier bought illegal sand from them but refused to pay, using his “police power” to threaten them.
When he returned to buy sand again, the mafia caught him and beat him up.
Devdutt Maheshwari, posted as a driver on Dial-112 at Civil Lines police station, is constructing his house.
About a week ago, he bought one trolley of sand from an illegal sand market near the National Highway overbridge and got it unloaded at his home. When the sand supplier asked for payment, Devdutt refused to pay and allegedly threatened him, saying, “The sand is illegal. Why should I give money? I won’t pay.”
Because he did not pay, the sand mafia grew angry and waited for him to return. When he came again to buy sand for the roof of his house, the mafia surrounded him.
They pulled him and started beating him. Devdutt tried to run, but the mafia kept hitting him. Someone recorded the whole incident on video.
The shocking part is that a Dial-112 vehicle from the Civil Lines police station was parked nearby, but the staff did not help him. Reports say the staff knew Devdutt had refused to pay for the sand earlier, so they did not intervene.
In Morena district, no sand is legally allowed to be mined.
The High Court in Gwalior banned sand mining in the Chambal river in 2007-08. Because of this, both the sand mining and the sand markets operating here are illegal.
