The Special Investigation Team tasked with determining whether a laborer from Sagar district is alive or dead, has filed a closure report where it named the missing man as a witness in the case, raising skepticism about the probe. Mansingh Patel went missing in August 2016, after a land dispute that named state minister Govind Singh Rajput, who was a former MLA of the Congress at the time.
At the heart of the controversy is a four-acre plot in Sagar district. Two months before his disappearance, Mansingh Patel had accused Mr Rajput of illegally registering his name in the revenue records. He claimed his land was taken using forged documents and unauthorized construction was in progress there. Mr Rajput claimed his name was mistakenly entered into the land records and that he had applied to have it removed in October 2016.
In an exclusive interview to NDTV in 2023, Mansingh Patel’s son, Sitaram Patel, accused the minister of being involved but later retracted his claims, following which the OBC Mahasabha took the case to the Supreme Court.
Ordered by the Supreme Court in August 2024, the SIT had a three-month deadline, but filed the report after significant delays. And it raises more questions than it provides answers.
According to the report, a copy of which is with NDTV, statements of 24 witnesses were recorded, of whom 15 maintained that Mansingh Patel was deeply religious and might have become a sadhu. Mansingh’s brother, Uttam Patel, had made a similar claim two years ago while speaking to NDTV.
What stands out is that while the SIT was tasked with finding Patel, they listed him as a witness on Page 14 of the closure report. Moreover, Inspector Lakhan Lal Uike appears in the report both as complainant and witness.
The report mentions that Mansingh Patel did not use a cellphone, raising questions about why the SIT attempted to retrieve his call records in the first place.
Asked about the inconsistencies, SIT chief Abhay Singh called them “technical issue”. He said the team followed all instructions of the Supreme Court and submitted its report accordingly.
However, the revelation that Patel was listed as a witness in the very investigation aimed at finding him has intensified skepticism surrounding the probe.
“It was claimed that ‘competent IPS officers’ were included in the SIT, yet their bizarre reasoning raises serious questions… The SIT chief now says listing Man Singh as a witness was just a ‘technical error’ — is this a joke?” said Congress leader KK Mishra. “Did UPSC exams also take place through Vyapam? If even an SIT formed on Supreme Court’s orders operates like this, where is the justice?” he added.
“The report has been completely prepared by the police administration under government pressure to protect Govind Rajput. The OBC Mahasabha will challenge this in the Supreme Court. We have previously demanded a CBI inquiry because we do not trust the Madhya Pradesh police,” said Dharmendra Kushwaha, Member, National Core Committee, OBC Mahasabha.
The report claims that exhaustive efforts were made to locate Mansingh Patel. Messages were circulated, photos pasted in public areas, relatives questioned, reward announced, and social media platforms monitored. The team, however, failed to find any substantial leads.
Govind Singh Rajput previously held the Revenue & Transport portfolio in the Kamal Nath-led Congress government. Then he switched to the BJP along with Jyotiraditya Scindia and retained the department. Currently he is the Minister for Food and Civil Supplies.
