SC orders fresh SIT to probe MP Min Rajput’s alleged role in disappearance of man in land dispute case

Bhopal: The Supreme Court has directed the constitution of a new Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate allegations against Madhya Pradesh minister Govind Singh Rajput and his aides concerning the illegal detention of a person since 2016 in a land dispute case.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan of the Apex Court, while disposing of a petition filed by OBC Mahasabha, has directed that the probe be completed within four months. The bench was hearing a plea seeking a writ of Habeas Corpus to release one Man Singh Patel, who is alleged to be under the illegal detention of Rajput and his aides in the Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh.

The case pertains to Man Singh Patel, who has been missing since 2016. His son, Sita Ram, had initially complained against Minister Rajput and his aides regarding the disappearance of his father due to a land dispute. However, Sita Ram later changed his statements under suspicious circumstances.

Minister Rajput, a close associate of Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, played a key role in toppling the Congress government in March 2020, switching from Congress to BJP.

In an order dated August 6 and uploaded on August 14, the Supreme Court also permitted the aggrieved parties to return to the apex court for stringent measures if necessary. The court directed the Director General of Police of Madhya Pradesh to form a three-member SIT led by an officer of the rank of Inspector General of Police. The SIT will include officers ranked Senior Superintendent of Police and Superintendent or Additional Superintendent of Police.

The Apex Court has also directed that all the officers of the SIT shall be directly recruited members of the Indian Police Services having their roots in a State other than Madhya Pradesh though serving in the MP cadre.

“Missing Person Registration number 9/2016 shall be immediately registered as an FIR, though initially against unknown persons only,” the order stated.

The earlier FIR number 23/2023 is to be kept in abeyance, and the SIT will not accept the complainant Sita Ram’s version as gospel truth due to his history of changing statements. The SIT is also directed to video-record the statements of responsible persons during the investigation.

The petitioners had moved the Apex Court directly due to the influence of the accused, given his position as a Cabinet minister. Earlier, the police stated that between September 2017 and September 2019, they visited various locations to locate the missing person without success. The top court rejected the State’s contentions against the plea’s maintainability.

The Supreme Court stated, “The documents, including the revenue record, indicating the genesis of the civil dispute, ownership, and transfer of land will be minutely scrutinised to determine what led to the sudden disappearance of Man Singh Patel.” The petitioner has requested a fair investigation into the allegations of the conspicuous disappearance of a person who was reportedly robbed of his highly valuable property before vanishing. The court noted that suspicions among those known to the missing person should be satisfactorily addressed, even in the interest of those against whom suspicion is raised.

Furthermore, the latest affidavit from the Sagar Superintendent of Police is notably silent about the whereabouts of the missing person, who may likely be dead by now, the court said. Owing to the serious nature of allegations against the influential, the composition of the existing SIT by the state is a mere eye-wash, the bench held.