Along with Yadav’s removal, Additional Commissioner Rohit Sisonia and Executive Engineer Sanjeev Srivastava were placed under suspension. Yadav has been transferred as Deputy Secretary in the Panchayat and Rural Development Department. The action comes after reports of multiple fatalities allegedly caused by unsafe water supply, particularly in Bhagirathpura and surrounding localities.

In a parallel move aimed at stabilising civic administration, the state government appointed three officers as additional commissioners in the Indore Municipal Corporation. Akash Singh, CEO of the Khargone District Panchayat, Prakhar Singh, CEO of the Alirajpur District Panchayat, and Ashish Kumar Pathak, Deputy Transport Commissioner, Indore, have been given additional charge.

The developments followed the submission of a 39-page status report by the state government in the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which stated that four deaths were directly attributable to contaminated water. The High Court had sought a detailed report on January 1, and the matter is scheduled for further hearing on January 6.

According to the government’s submission, the deceased were all above 60 years of age: Urmila, who died on December 28; Tara (60) and Nanda (70), who died on December 30; and Hiralal (65), who died on December 31. The report maintained that only these four cases were conclusively linked to water contamination, even as hospitals and families have claimed the death toll is higher.

Health officials confirmed that laboratory tests conducted by MGM Medical College found the water unfit for human consumption. Indore Chief Medical and Health Officer Dr Madhav Prasad Hasani said samples tested positive for fecal coliform, E-coli, vibrio and protozoa, indicating severe contamination. Sources also pointed to the detection of Vibrio cholerae, though officials described this as a preliminary finding. Separate tests conducted by the municipal corporation on around 80 samples also found multiple locations, especially Bhagirathpura, unsafe for use. Neither report has been made public.

Urban Administration Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya visited the Bhagirathpura primary health centre on Friday evening to review the situation but declined to address media queries, saying he would speak at a press conference later.

The issue has triggered sharp political reactions. Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi accused the administration of negligence, while Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge questioned the Centre’s silence. With protests continuing and the case before the High Court, the water contamination crisis remains under close administrative and judicial watch.