Days after transfer as Sagar SP, IPS officer Anurag Sujania resigns amid ongoing liquor row in M.P.

Just days after his transfer from Sagar Superintendent of Police (SP) post, IPS office Anurag Sujania has tendered his resignation from the service citing personal reasons. 

Mr. Sujania, along with Sagar Collector Pratibha Pal, was removed on October 27, over a month after a hooch tragedy killed more than 25 in the district. The bureaucratic reshuffle, however, came amid a more recent alleged hooch tragedy in Dewas with the government transferring the Collector and SP of the district. 

Mr. Sujania and then Dewas SP Punit Gehlot both had been attached to police headquarters in Bhopal as assistant inspector generals (AIGs) of police. Mr. Sujania, an IPS officer of the 2014 cadre, had been posted in Sagar in May. The police authorities are yet to accept his resignation. 

Even though an official word on the decision is awaited, sources in the police department confirmed Mr. Sujania’s resignation while claiming that he had been upset over the transfer. They also believe that the two top officials from Sagar may have faced the axe due to the pressure on government to act against the Dewas officials. 

The State Government is already facing pressure over various liquor related incidents, including the killing of a police inspector in Dewas while intercepting a truck carrying illicit alcohol and alleged deaths of 13 people in the district in October. 

“He believed that the police had conducted a swift investigation here [in the Sagar hooch tragedy] and arrested all the accused in the case. So, he was upset about the transfer and thought it was unfair,” an officer in Sagar said, requesting anonymity.

During his visit to Sagar during the hooch tragedy in early September, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav had then given a “free hand” to the police even as speculations of the Collector and SP’s removal made rounds. 

After the CM’s visit, the police had made several arrests in the case, including some key accused following brief encounters. 

The officer said that Mr. Sujania was in Sagar until Sunday (November 1, 2026) and arrived in Bhopal on Monday (November 2, 2026). “He may have met some senior police officials and discussed the issue before deciding to resign,” the officer added. 

A native of Rajasthan, Mr. Sujania has served as SP in Morena and Mandsaur district. 

Although considered a sharp officer in the policing circles, Mr. Sujani’s over a decade-long career, however, has seen two major hooch tragedies in his jurisdiction — Sagar and in Morena in 2021 that claimed 24 lives. 

Meanwhile, a source in Bhopal said that a high-level meeting is likely to take place over the resignation, with some reports claiming that Chief Minister Mohan Yadav is also expected to attend.

Published - November 04, 2026 05:55 am IST