MP farmers' killing: Shivraj govt suspends former Mandsaur collector, SP

Mandsaur: The Madhya Pradesh Government on Wednesday suspended two top officials, including former Mandsaur`s District Collector Swatantra Kumar Singh and Superintendent of Police (SP) O P Tripathi, for failing to control the famers` agitation that resulted into police firing on June 6.

Singh and Tripathi were transferred by the government on June 8 after six farmers were killed in a police firing during an agitation demanding loan waiver and better price for their produce.

Singh was later replaced with O.P. Shrivastava and Tripathi with Manoj Kumar Singh.

The situation forced the district officials to impose Section 144, and restrict prominent personalities from visiting the violence-hit district.

A number of political leaders, including Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, and social activists, tried to visit Mandsaur but the police didn`t let them enter the area.

Section 144 was later revoked after Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan`s visited the families of the deceased farmers.

On June 7, the government ordered a judicial inquiry to probe the situation. Retired High Court judge, Justice J. K. Jain was appointed as the single member of the commission.