Jaipur, Sept. 23 -- A 40-year-old forest ranger died after a dumper ran over him when he tried to stop suspected illegal soil mining in Pratapgarh district, officials said on Tuesday. According to forest department officials, a team led by Ranger Pratap Singh Chundawat went to the Pithalwadi gram panchayat area on Monday night, after receiving information about soil being mined and transported from forest land. Chundawat tried to stop a dumper but its driver ran over him and fled, the officials said. Chhoti Sadri police station officer Kailash Chandra Soni said, "We have received a complaint that a forest ranger was run over by a dumper driver near the Shri Ghatiwale Balaji temple." "The ranger was on duty and tried to stop the dumper. The driver ran over him and his Bullet motorcycle before speeding away. The motorcycle was dragged for about 50 metres," he added. Soni said the dumper driver and the driver of a JCB machine fled the scene after the incident. Chundawat was taken to Jaichand Mohil Sub-District Hospital in Chhotisadri, where he was administered first aid. Doctors referred him to Nimbahera District Hospital as his condition worsened, but he died during treatment. SHO Soni said, "After receiving a complaint from the family, we registered a case and initiated further action. Given the seriousness of the incident, we have launched a search for the dumper driver. The case will be investigated from every angle." Congress state president Govind Singh Dotasara called the incident a murder and questioned the state government over illegal mining. "The news of Forest Department Ranger Pratap Singh Chundawat being run over by a dumper while trying to stop illegal mining in Chhoti Sadri, Pratapgarh, and his death during treatment is extremely painful," he wrote in a social media post. "This is not just the murder of an officer, but an open challenge to law and order in Rajasthan," Dotasara said. He asked how those involved in illegal mining had become "so fearless that they are not even afraid to kill officers"....