Tribal woman dies as three men run tractor over her for land

A 30-year-old tribal woman was killed after three men, including a father-son duo, allegedly ran a tractor over her as a result of a land dispute in Singrauli district of Madhya Pradesh, police said Sunday.

The incident took place on Friday at Dhilari village, around 60 kms from the district headquarters, and the woman, Kiran Kol, succumbed to her injuries a day later, they said.

The three accused have been identified as Bandhu Bais (55), his son Lalpati Bais (30) and their close relative Prabhakar Bais (25).

While Bandhu and Prabhakar have been arrested, search has been launched for Lalpati, police said.

"An argument broke out between the victim and the accused after the latter Friday started ploughing a farm land, claiming that it was theirs. However, Kiran objected to it saying that the land belonged to her family since the last three decades," inspector of Jiyawan police station Nehru Singh said.

Angered by her resistance, the accused knocked Kiran down with the tractor that they were using for ploughing the field, he said, adding that the trio also attacked her father-in-law, Visheshar Kol (60), with wooden sticks.

"They also punched and kicked him, leaving him injured," he added.

Following the incident, the woman was rushed to a nearby hospital. However, she died on Saturday while being transferred to another hospital, he said.

While Bandhu and Prabhakar have been arrested, efforts are on to trace Lalpati, Singh added.

They have booked for murder, attempt to murder and other offences. They have also been booked under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the inspector said.