Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has taken stern action, ordering the suspension of the Bandhavgarh Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) in the wake of a disturbing incident. Two individuals were allegedly assaulted on a road allegedly in the officer's presence for overtaking his vehicle in Umaria district.
Expressing strong disapproval on social media, CM Yadav asserted that such behaviour towards the common man in the state would not be tolerated. In response to the incident, the police have filed a case against Bandhavgarh SDM Amit Singh, tehsildar Vinod Kumar, SDM's driver Narendra Das Panika, and tehsildar's assistant Sandeep Singh.
CM Yadav's reaction on the matter
"I have directed to suspend the Bandhavgarh SDM following the incident of beating of two youths surfaced. It is an unfortunate incident. There is a government of good governance in the state. Such behaviour with the common man in the state will not be tolerated," CM Yadav wrote on X.
However, the SDM earlier denied that the two men were assaulted under his watch, and claimed that one of them was driving the car carelessly and was about to hit his official vehicle.
Police book accused
Civil Line police post in-charge Amar Singh said the accused were booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 294 (obscene act in public place), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint) and 34 (common intention).
In the complaint, one of the victims, Prakash Dahiya, who sustained injuries on his head and elsewhere, claimed that people sitting in the vehicle with "SDM" written on it got down and thrashed him and another car occupant Shivam Yadav, both residents of Bharola village, for overtaking. They also broke the window panes of his car, he alleged.
What did the SDM say?
SDM Singh has earlier said he was visiting areas under his jurisdiction in his vehicle as various programmes were organised on the occasion of the Ram Lalla idol consecration in Ayodhya. He said the car in which the victims were sitting was coming at a fast speed and his driver somehow avoided a collision. Singh said he got down from his vehicle after seeing the attack on the duo and tried to calm the situation. The government official, however, denied that people travelling in his vehicle were involved in the attack.
(With PTI inputs)
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