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Collector who sent elderly man to jail for complaining about road, will face inquiry

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Bureaucracy  Madhya Pradesh  Insensitivity  Narsinghpur  IAS officer  Collector

 

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NewsBits.in

BHOPAL: The collector of Narsinghpur, Abhay Verma, who had got an elderly man arrested and sent to jail, after he raised his grieance at the public hearing, will now face inquiry. 

Pramod Purohit, a senior citizen, hails from Khurpa in Narsinghpur. He came to the collector's public hearing and raised the issue of poor condition of the road.

But Verma got angry and in shocking step, called the police and sent him to jail. Purohit was booked under Section 151 and had to spend three nights in the prison. After the incident came to light, there was widespread criticism.

Apparently, he Collector  irked when Purohit repeatedly spoke about the problems faced by villagers on whose behalf he had come to the 'jan sunwai'. To counter the charges, it was claimed that the elderly man was drunk and misbehaved with the officer. 

However, Purohit said that he had never touched liquor in his lifetime and demanded that the CCTV footage of the office should be examined to find out the truth.

He formally lodged a complaint in this regard over the manner he was booked and jailed. Now, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that there will be inquiry in this case. 

Earlier, the Madhya Pradesh Human Rights Commission (MPHRC) had also sought information about the incident and has initiated a probe into the alleged misuse of powers by the district collector. 

The rights commission has sent notices to IG and the Commissioner in this regard. It has also asked the officials to ensure that the footage of the CCTV are protected so that they can be examined during the course of probe.