MP deputy speaker escort team hit by truck, 4 killed

Bhopal: The deputy speaker of MP Assembly, Hina Kawre, had a providential escape when a truck ran into her cavalcade at Saleteka nearly 20 km from the district headquarters town of Balaghat in MP late on Sunday night.

The speeding truck hit her escort vehicle killing its driver and three cops travelling in it, said SP (Balaghat) A. Jaydevan on Monday.

The police did not rule out the hand of Naxals in the incident in the wake of Maoists threatening to eliminate her by January 14.

Mr Jaydevan indicated that the deputy speaker had received two letters by post recently, purportedly sent by Naxals demanding her to pay them Rs 20 lakh.

Sources said that the ultras had threatened to eliminate her if she failed to pay the money by January 14.

While the first letter reached the deputy speaker’s home in Lanji Assembly constituency on January 3, the second one was sent to her on January 10, a senior district police officer said.

The deputy speaker had drawn the attention of the Balaghat SP to the matter seeking to strengthen her security.

Incidentally, the tribal leader’s father, Likhiram Kawre, who was a minister in the Digvijay Singh government, was brutally killed allegedly by Naxals in 1999.

The ultras had stormed his house in Lanji and slit his throat killing him on the spot.

“We have ordered a high level probe into the incident,” state home minister Bala Bachchan said.

The deputy speaker, who represented Lanji Assembly constituency in Balaghat district, was travelling to Balaghat when the incident took place.

The state government has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 1 crore each to the next of kin of the deceased besides announcing employment to one member of each family of the slain officials.