Official slaps man for Covid norm violation, apologizes

Surajpur: Chhattisgarh’s Surajpur district collector on May 22 apologised after a video of him hitting a man for a Covid-19 norm violation during the lockdown went viral on social media.

Shortly after a video went viral on social media, the district collector apologized and blamed the man for his “insolent behavior.”

“The youth claimed that he was on his way to get vaccinated, but there was no proper documentation. Later, he said he was going to see his grandmother,” the collector said.

“I never had any intention to disrespect or belittle the person in the video. In this pandemic situation, district Surajpur along with the entire Chhattisgarh state has been facing an irreparable loss of lives. We all employees of the state government are striving hard to tackle this problem,” he said.

In the video, the man can be seen showing a piece of paper and something on his mobile phone to District Collector Ranbir Sharma. The collector then takes the man’s device and throws it to the ground.

The senior official is then seen slapping the man and encouraging two policemen who rush to the spot and start hitting the man with sticks.

Sharma said he had recovered from Covid-19 while his mother continued to battle the infection, and asked people to follow Covid-19 norms in place strictly so that the outbreak can be contained.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has instructed the removal of District Collector Ranbir Sharma from Surajpur immediately.

“The case of misbehavior with a young man by Surajpur collector Ranbir Sharma has come to my notice through social media. It is very sad and condemnable. No such act will be tolerated in Chhattisgarh. Instructions have been given to remove Collector Ranbir Sharma with immediate effect,” said Baghel on Twitter.

https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/chhattisgarh-official-apologise-for-slapping-man-for-violating-covid-norms-after-video-goes-viral-1805886-2021-05-23