Madhya Pradesh Inspector Dies in Liquor Truck Interception

Madhya Pradesh police inspector Dilip Puri died after a truck carrying illicit liquor struck him during an attempted stop in Dewas district early November 2, police said. Constable Sohan Jat was injured, and the truck driver fled, according to police accounts. The incident occurred around 1:30 a.m. on the Indore-Betul highway, where Puri, the Khategaon police station in-charge, was leading an operation based on intelligence about liquor being moved from Harda district toward Gujarat. Police said he approached a truck and asked its driver to step out for a search. The driver allegedly drove the vehicle over Puri and escaped. Puri later died in hospital. Police recovered more than 1,800 litres of illicit liquor from the truck. Dewas Superintendent of Police Aditya Mishra described the consignment as about 1,800 litres in 208 boxes. Police said the vehicle had been abandoned after the incident. The driver’s custody status was reported inconsistently: most accounts said he remained at large, while another said he had been arrested. Police had identified him as Gajendra Rawat, also known as Akku, and were searching for him, according to Special Director General Upendra Jain. Jain...