Abduction case filed after 8 years in farmer disappearance, MP Min under SIT scanner

Bhopal: In a highly-publicised case, the Madhya Pradesh Police have registered an FIR in connection with farmer Man Singh Patel, who has been missing for eight years, in a land dispute case after the

Supreme Court order.

On behalf of an SIT (Special Investigation Team), constituted by the DGP of Madhya Pradesh after the Apex court directions, sub-inspector Sandeep Khare had got the FIR registered under the Section 365 (kidnapping or abduction) of the IPC at the Civil Lines police station in Sagar district

on August 23, 2024.

However, the FIR has been registered against an unknown person. In the contents portion of the FIR, the name of MP Minister Govind Singh Rajput has been mentioned as the complainant, Sitaram Patel, the son of the missing farmer had written in the complaint on August 26, 2016.

The matter became a burning topic on Friday morning in political circles when the copy of the FIR went viral on social media platforms and the news was broadcast on TV channels.

Meanwhile, Congress demanded Chief Minister Mohan Yadav to remove Rajput from the state Cabinet.

Congress state chief Jeetu Patwari told the media that he had demanded to relieve Rajput of his position and would write to the BJP state chief in this regard.

Similarly, Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar wrote on X: “In this case, government pressure and police leniency were visible from the beginning, but justice is still alive in the country. Will Chief Minister @DrMohanYadav51 resign as BJP minister #GovindSingh_Rajput??”

Rajput may face trouble after his name is mentioned in the first information contents. He could come under SIT’s scanner in the matter of the disappearance of Patel.

Union Minister Jyotiraditya’s loyalist Rajput holds the Food and Civil Supplies portfolio in the Yadav-led state government. He quit Congress and joined BJP with Scindia in 2020 leading to the toppling of the Kamal Nath government.

In the light of legal complications, he may be asked to resign from the post.

In a similar case, Anup Mishra, who is the nephew of BJP’s founder member and former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, had to resign from the ministerial

berth in the state.

The case pertains to the missing person. His son Sitaram had produced a complaint against Rajput and his aides for the disappearance of his father on account of a land dispute at Civil Lines police station in August 2016, but it was never registered as an FIR in the last eight years. However, the son changed his statements later under suspicious circumstances.

While disposing of a writ petition (criminal) of Habeas Corpus filed by OBC Mahasabha, the top court has directed the DGP of the state to form an SIT to probe into the missing person’s case and complete it within four months. The petitioner had demanded to release one Man Singh Patel, alleged to be under the illegal detention of Rajput and his aides.