Yunus Khan, the Sub Divisional Magistrate of Nalagarh, who was attacked
A bureaucrat in Himachal Pradesh was nearly killed allegedly by the illegal sand mining mafia in the Solan district, 45 km from state capital of Shimla.
Yunus Khan, the Sub Divisional Magistrate of Nalagarh, was trying to impound a vehicle with illegally-mined sand on Wednesday with the help of his staff when the driver tried to run him over. Not once, but four times. The vehicle finally flipped over and the driver ran away.
Mr Khan is from the same batch of IAS officers as Durga Shakti Nagpal, whose suspension by the Uttar Pradesh government has generated a national debate on the need to protect honest officers from political interference and vendetta. That point was also made forcefully a few days ago in a letter from Congress President Sonia Gandhi to the Prime Minister. She cited Ms Nagpal's case.
Ms Nagpal, 28, was suspended from her office in Greater Noida, on charges that she endangered communal harmony by ordering the demolition of the wall of a new mosque being built without permission on public land.
The UP government headed by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has denounced allegations that it was her campaign to stop illegal sand mining that resulted in the action against her.