INDORE: A 32-year-old farmer was murdered in a dynamite explosion on his farm in MP's Ratlam district on Tuesday morning, triggering panic among other farmers in the region. The blast blew him 60 feet away and killed him instantly.
Police suspect the explosive device was planted under the farmer's submersible pump and primed to explode with the switch. "The explosive set-up is locally called 'tote' and is used for digging wells. It was connected with the pump's starter switch, and exploded as soon as Lal Singh switched it on, killing him on the spot," said Ratlam SP Gaurav Tiwari.
Ex-sarpanch survived earlier blast
Police have no suspects yet. What makes the murder more chilling is that another farmer had fallen victim to a similar IED some time ago in the same village but survived, though he was badly injured.
The incident took place around 8am in Rattagarh Kheda village, some 30km from the district headquarters and 110km from Indore. According to police, 32-year-old Lal Singh set off for his farm, as usual, to water his crops. There was nothing to indicate this day was different from any other. The moment he switched on the pump, it exploded.
An ex-sarpanch, Bhawarlal Dodiyar, who was working on his farm close to the victim's land, was jolted by the blast. "I heard the explosion from the farm next to mine and ran over. Lal Singh was lying in a pool of blood, several feet away from what looked like the blast site," Dodiyar told TOI. "He was not breathing anymore. A portion of his head and left palm had been blown off," he added. Dodiyar called the police.
The ex-sarpanch said he was injured in a similar explosion on his land in June last year. "I suffered head injuries and lost my eyesight for nearly a month," he said. Police sent the body for autopsy and inspected the crime scene with bomb experts and a forensics team. Bomb disposal squad (BDS) has recovered residues of four detonators and gelatin rods from the spot."
The explosion blew a 4ft-deep crater near the pump's starter point. The victim's remains were recovered about 60ft from the explosion site," an officer said. Ratlam SP Gaurav Tiwari said the soil was loose and planting a detonator was not difficult. "Considering the scene of crime, it appears to be a murder and a case under UIPC section 302 has been registered against unknown accused," he said.
Police have spoken with the family but found no clue to any major dispute with anyone, the SP said. "We will take cyber experts' help to trace the mobile phones that were active in the area at the time of explosion," Tiwari told TOI. The murder has angered tribal farmers. They have threatened to launch protests if the killer isn't arrested soon.
