MP: Collector, SP transferred after 9 children die in wall collapse

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Sunday night ordered the removal of the Sagar district collector, superintendent of police and sub-divisional magistrate following the deaths of nine children on Sunday, an official said.

The transfer orders were issued late at night.

As per the late-night order, Sagar collector Deepak Arya is transferred to the state secretariat in Bhopal as deputy secretary.

Sandeep GR (2013 batch), who is presently working as Chhattarpur collector, is posted as the new collector of Sagar in place of Arya, the official said.

The chief minister also ordered the transfer of Sagar sub-divisional magistrate.

The government transferred Sagar SP Abhishek Tiwari (IPS 2013) as well and posted him as Assistant Inspector General (AIG) at police headquarters in Bhopal.

Vikas Kumar Sahwal (IPS 2014), currently posted as Raisen SP will now be the new SP of Sagar, the official said.

The CM also ordered the suspension, with immediate effect, of Dr Hariom Bansal posted at the Shahpur primary health centre on the charges of negligence.

“I have directed that the district collector, SP, and SDM (Sagar) be removed from their positions,” the CM said in a tweet late on Sunday night.

Nine children, aged 10 to 15 years, were killed and two injured in the wall collapse incident at a religious programme in Shahpur, Sagar Divisional Commissioner Virendra Singh Rawat told PTI over the phone.

A programme of "Parthiv Shivling Nirman" (making Shivling out of clay) was going on under a tent near the dilapidated house, and a wall collapsed and fell on the tent, local BJP MLA and former minister Gopal Bhargava told reporters.

The children got crushed under the tent and debris, Bhargava said.

Collector Arya said the children were sitting under a tent near a temple, and the house wall collapsed due to rain.

Two children died on the spot, while seven others succumbed on the way to the hospital or on reaching there, he said.

Arya said two other children were injured and undergoing treatment at the district hospital. They were out of danger, he added.

According to officials, the deceased were identified as Dhruv Yadav (12), Nitesh Patel (13), Ashutosh Prajapati (15), Prince Sahu (12), Parv Vishwakarma (10), Divyansh Sahu (12), Dev Sahu (12), Vansh Lodhi (10) and Hemant (10).

Expressing grief, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a post on X, said, "The incident caused by the wall collapse in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh is heart-breaking. My condolences to the bereaved families of the children who lost their lives in this incident. May God give them strength to bear this pain. I wish speedy recovery of all the injured."

The PMO, in a message on X, informed that the prime minister had announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF for the next of kin of each deceased, while the injured would be given Rs 50,000.

President Droupadi Murmu also expressed grief over the tragedy.

“I am deeply saddened by the heart-wrenching news of the death of many innocent children in an accident in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh. I pray that God grants the grieving parents and families the strength to endure this pain. I also wish for the swift recovery of the injured children,” she said on X.

Earlier on Sunday, Yadav announced assistance of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of each of the deceased.

He suspended the chief municipal officer (CMO) of Shahpur Nagar Panchayat and a sub-engineer and directed civil bodies across the state to identify dilapidated buildings and take action.

"I am saddened to hear the news of 9 innocent children dying after the collapse of the wall of a dilapidated house due to heavy rains in Shahpur of Sagar district. I have directed the district administration to provide proper treatment to the injured children," the chief minister tweeted.

The families of the deceased children will receive financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh each by the government, Yadav said.

In another post, the chief minister said the Shahpur Nagar Panchayat had issued notices identifying dilapidated houses but had failed to inform the local administration.

The in-charge chief municipal officer and a sub-engineer of the nagar panchayat, found guilty of negligence, were suspended with immediate effect, he said.

Yadav said all administrative officers were directed to identify dilapidated buildings across the state and take legal action so that such incidents don't recur.

Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari also expressed grief over the incident.

Former chief minister and Congress leader Kamal Nath cited that this was the second instance of children dying in a wall collapse, as four children lost their lives in a similar incident in Rewa on Saturday.

In light of the heavy rainfall in the state, the administration needs to identify weak buildings and walls to prevent such incidents, he said.