Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Anurag Sujania, 38, who was recently removed as Sagar superintendent of police (SP) after about six months of being posted to the district, has resigned from government service, people familiar with the matter said.
An investigation at the time had revealed that the sale of illicit liquor was taking place under police protection, following which he was removed as Morena SP. Sujania was posted as assistant inspector general (AIG) at the police headquarters. Opposition leaders, including former chief minister Digvijaya Singh, had attacked Sujania after the Sagar hooch tragedy. The government is yet to decide on his resignation.
Sujania, a 2014 batch officer, submitted his resignation on November 2, days after the government transferred the district SP and collector Pratibha Pal on October 27. Singh had pointed out that 24 people also died in Morena district in 2021 after consuming spurious liquor when Sujania was the district SP.
A CMO officer said the state’s law and order situation was reviewed, including a discussion on curbing the liquor mafia in MP. Senior police officers said the State IPS Association discussed the case with chief minister Mohan Yadav on Tuesday. Later on Tuesday evening, the chief minister convened a meeting of all senior police officers at his residence.
Another 100 others were hospitalised. The government later constituted a one-man judicial inquiry headed by justice (retired) VPS Chauhan. His transfer came two months after a hooch tragedy in Sagar district’s Banda district in which at least 20 people died due to consumption of spurious liquor sold by bootleggers for ₹ 70 a bottle on September 7.
The state government has told the high court that the cause of death in the case of seven others was not clear.
