- Pushpraj Singh, son of Congress MLA Sena Patel, charged with attempted murder in Madhya Pradesh
- Singh tried to run over two policemen near Alirajpur bus stand in a speeding unregistered SUV
- One constable injured, vehicle crashed into a pole, Singh fled the scene and is on the run
The son of a Congress MLA from Madhya Pradesh has been charged with attempted murder after he was seen trying to run over two policemen in Alirajpur district earlier this week. Pushpraj Singh, whose mother, Sena Patel, is a Congress MLA from Jobat, is on the run amid a manhunt by the state police.
NDTV had earlier shared the CCTV footage that allegedly showed the two constables trying to stop a speeding SUV, which did not have a registration plate, near Alirajpur bus stand. But Singh, who was driving the SUV, accelerated instead and tried to run over the policemen, showed the horrifying footage.
The two constables narrowly escaped death, and the vehicle rammed into a pole. One of the cops, Rakesh Gujaria, was injured and is being treated at the district hospital. Singh was identified based on the constables' testimonies.
Alirajpur Kotwali Police have registered an attempt to murder case and launched a search operation for the accused.
Superintendent of Police Rajesh Vyas said that the accused deliberately did not stop when signalled by the patrolling constables and instead tried to run them over. A special team led by a DSP-rank officer has been formed to arrest him.
The FIR has led to a dramatic fallout with the accused's father, Mahesh Patel, husband of MLA Sena Patel, calling a press conference and accusing the police of filing a false case under political pressure. "This was a minor accident, but it's being portrayed as an attempted murder. We will move the High Court against this unjust action," he said.
MLA Patel, mother of the accused, also came to her son's defence, calling the police action a "well-planned political conspiracy". She said that she will raise the matter in the assembly and threatened to escalate the issue to the Chief Minister.
Despite the political pushback, the CCTV footage is damning. The visuals clearly show the SUV racing towards the two constables, who barely managed to leap out of the way before the vehicle crashed into a pole. The vehicle had no number plate, and the driver fled immediately after the crash.
