RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh school education minister Kedar Kashyap made headlines on Saturday after allegedly threatening to beat a general manager of Kondagaon district industries following allegations that the latter had accepted a bribe of Rs 5,000.
The general manager, S R Elma, said the minister called him to a guest house and without listening to him threatened to thrash Elma with his shoes and also set his office on fire.
“I was insulted in the presence of his party cadre and other officials. The minister asked me why I took Rs 5,000 as he started rebuking me with offensive language. He even took out his shoes and threatened to beat me. I told him that the money taken was actually meant for the chartered accountant who prepared the project report to set up some project in Kondagaon. I didn’t accept any money,” Elma said.
However, Kashyap refuted the officer’s charges and said he had received complaints from villagers. He claimed that Elma accepted his “misdeed” and agreed to return the amount.
“My intention was not to hurt anyone but to convey a strong message against corruption. Why would I threaten to beat him with my shoes when I was not even wearing any,” Kashyap defended.
Elma said that he has lodged a formal complaint with district collector Samir Bishnoi.
Bishnoi, however, told the New Indian Express that he is yet to receive any written complaint. “The officer has only verbally communicated with me,” he said.