Sagar hooch tragedy: IPS officer Anurag Sujania resigns days after removal as SP

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.

Sujania has not commented on his resignation or the transfer (X/SagarSP)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.

Sujania was posted as assistant inspector general (AIG) at the police headquarters. Sujania has not commented on his resignation. A senior IPS officer confirmed the development. “Anurag Sujania resigned due to personal reasons.

Now, his resignation request has been forwarded to the state government,” the officer said. 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.

Another 100 others were hospitalised. The state government has told the high court that the cause of death in the case of seven others was not clear. The government later constituted a one-man judicial inquiry headed by justice (retired) VPS Chauhan.

Opposition leaders, including former chief minister Digvijaya Singh, had attacked Sujania after the Sagar hooch tragedy. Singh had pointed out that 24 people also died in Morena district in 2021 after consuming spurious liquor when Sujania was the district SP.

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. Senior police officers said the State IPS Association discussed the case with chief minister Mohan Yadav on Tuesday.

The government is yet to decide on his resignation. Later on Tuesday evening, the chief minister convened a meeting of all senior police officers at his residence. A CMO officer said the state’s law and order situation was reviewed, including a discussion on curbing the liquor mafia in MP.

I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth.

I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation.

In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest.

I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files.

Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts.

Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More