Collector removed after video shows him hitting man

The Surajpur District Collector in Chhattisgarh was removed from the post after a viral video showed him hitting a man. Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel directed officials to provide a new mobile phone to the man, identified as Aman Mittal.

Surajpur: The collector of Chhattisgarh's Surajpur district, Ranbir Sharma, was removed from the post on Sunday after a viral video showed him slapping a man and throwing his mobile phone for alleged COVID-19 norms violation.

After the video started doing rounds on the internet, the civil servant faced sharp criticism for physically assaulting a citizen.

Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Sunday said the incident was condemnable and that he has directed the District Collector to be removed from charge immediately. "Misbehaviour by an official is unacceptable. I am upset at this incident. I apologise to the youth and his family," the chief minister said in a tweet in Hindi.

Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel's tweet

The issued instructions for the removal of the 2012-batch IAS officer from the post.

The CM also directed officials to provide a new mobile phone to the man, identified as Aman Mittal (23), as his handset was damaged in the incident that took place on Saturday.

While apologising for his behaviour, Sharma in a video message on Saturday night said he never had any intention to disrespect or belittle the person (Mittal).

"The COVID-19 situation in Surajpur is bad. I along with my parents tested positive recently. We all employees of the state government are striving hard to tackle this problem," he said.

According to him, when the man was stopped, he told them that he was out to get vaccinated (against COVID-19) and showed a paper that was not related to vaccination. Later, he changed his statement and said he was going to see his grandmother.

"He misbehaved and in anger, I slapped him. I apologise for my behaviour, Sharma had said.

In 2015, Sharma was caught by the state's Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) for allegedly taking bribe from a revenue officer when he was posted as the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) in Bhanupratappur town of Kanker district.

He was not arrested then, but was transferred from Bhanupratappur to the Mantralaya at Nava Raipur as under secretary.

Meanwhile, a police official said a case has also been registered against Mittal under the Epidemic Diseases Act for allegedly violating the COVID-19 norms.

Agencies