Facing backlash over a viral video in which a collector of Surajpur district can be seen slapping a man, allegedly for violating lockdown restrictions, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Sunday, 23 May, removed the IAS officer while stating that such “acts will not be tolerated in the state”.
Maintaining that he was upset with the incident, Baghel apologised to the young man and his family.
Baghel tweeted that he had come to know about the incident through social media, in which Surajpur Collector Ranbir Sharma can be seen first taking the youth’s phone in and then smashing it on the ground. He then slaps the youth without any provocation and even asks security personnel to land lathis on him.
Sharma’s act drew criticism from the IAS Association as well, which said that his behavior was “unacceptable & against the basic tenets of the service & civility”.
However, Collector Sharma claimed that the concerned man was out for vaccination without any proper document.
“Later, he said he was going to visit his grandmother. I slapped him in heat of the moment when he misbehaved. He was 23-24 years old and not 13. I regret and apologise for my behaviour,” Sharma told ANI.
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