MP: Revenue official crushed to death by tractor-trolley used for illegal sand mining; one held
Shahdol (PTI): A patwari, a local revenue department official, was crushed to death by a tractor-trolley used for transporting sand illegally in Shahdol district of Madhya Pradesh, police said on Sunday.
The police have arrested the driver of the vehicle in connection with the incident that occurred around midnight on Saturday, an official said.
A patrolling team of government employees, including patwari Prasann Singh, intercepted the tractor-trolley transporting illegally mined sand near Son River in the Gopalpur area, Deolond police station in-charge Rajkumar Mishra said.
On reaching the river, Singh, posted as patwari in Khadda of Bohari tehsil, saw a tractor-trolley carrying sand and tried to stop it, but the driver ran over him, he said.
Singh was killed on the spot, while the accused driver fled with the vehicle, the official said.
Talking to PTI, Shahdol's Superintendent of Police (SP) Kumar Prateek said the police began the probe immediately and identified the tractor and its driver Shubham Vishwakarma (25), who was arrested on Sunday morning.
A case under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered against Vishwakarma, who is a resident of Maihar district, around 8 km from the scene of the crime, he said.
The tractor has been seized and its owner has been identified, he added.
District collector Vandana Vaidya said following complaints of illegal sand mining, a joint team of the revenue, mining departments, and the police had inspected the area on November 23.
Illegally mined sand was seized on Thursday and Friday from the same area, she said.
The sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) of Beohari and other officials cracked down on the illegal activity in the area till 8.30 pm on Saturday, the collector said.
However, the incident occurred when Singh and three of his colleagues went to the spot to take stock of the situation later, she said.
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Bengaluru jail introduces biometric tracking system for prisoners
Bengaluru: In a bid to curb misconduct and illegal activities inside Parappana Agrahara Central Prison, prison authorities have introduced a new ‘Prisoners Tracking Movement System’ under which inmates will have to undergo biometric verification while entering every barrack.
According to jail officials, biometric systems have been installed across all major sections of the prison, including barracks, visitor rooms, hospital, canteen, kitchen, library, playground, handicraft units and bakery sections. Staff members have also been deployed at these locations.
Officials said inmates visiting the visitors’ room must now obtain a digital token after biometric verification. Details such as the prisoner’s name, identification number and entry time will be updated in the prison software system. This will help authorities maintain a complete digital record of inmates visiting and returning from meeting rooms.
Similar systems have also been introduced at entry points of the hospital, library and other barracks accessed for work-related purposes. Officials said the system will help identify prisoners involved in suspicious or illegal activities with other inmates and enable authorities to track how much time a prisoner spends at different locations inside the prison.
Authorities stated that AI-powered cameras were already being used inside the prison to monitor inmates as well as prison staff. Along with this, digital tracking of prisoner phone calls and a digital token system for visitor meetings have now been added to strengthen surveillance over inmate movement. Officials said the project has been implemented at a cost of around Rs 2.25 crore.
The prison department has also introduced a canteen usage tracking system to monitor prisoners’ spending patterns. Instead of direct cash payments, inmates can purchase bakery items and snacks using wallets or coupons issued within the prison system.
Officials said the digital system will record details including the buyer’s name, items purchased, quantity, date, time and remaining wallet balance. This will allow prison authorities to maintain complete expenditure records of inmates.
