MP revenue official puts his foot on panchayat member's back; suspended

Sagar: A revenue department official in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district was suspended after he put his foot on the back of a panchayat representative while asking him to apologise over a dispute between them, an official said on Wednesday.

The accused, Vinod Ahirwar, got a picture of the act clicked on Monday and circulated it on social media.

District Collector Deepak Arya on Wednesday said Ahirwar, posted as patwari at Bhangarh under Bina tehsil, has been suspended after receiving a report from Bina’s sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) about the picture, which went viral on social media platforms.

When contacted, janpad panchayat member Kshamadhar Kurmi told PTI that during a ‘Gandhi Jayanti’ programme on October 2, he raised an objection as he was not offered a chair which led to an argument with Ahirwar.

Ahirwar, who belongs to the Dalit community, filed a police complaint against Kurmi for allegedly creating obstacles in his duty and also threatened to file a case under the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, he said.

When Kurmi visited Ahirwar’s office on Monday, the latter told him that he if wanted the complaint to be withdrawn, he will have to apologise by touching Ahirwar’s feet.

Kurmi said when he apologised by touching Ahirwar’s feet, the latter put up his right foot on his back, got a picture of the act clicked and circulated it on social media.

Kurmi later complained about the patwari’s act to the SDM, who conducted an inquiry and submitted a report to the district collector.

The collector said Ahirwar’s ”indecent act” with the panchayat member has tarnished the image of government employees.

Insulting a public representative comes under the category of misconduct towards government duties, he said.