CHANDIGARH: Himachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Minister Anirudh Singh has been booked by the state police on charges of allegedly assaulting and threatening two officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in Shimla.
The incident occurred soon after a multi-storeyed building collapsed at Chamyana in Shimla, allegedly due to ongoing four-lane construction work.
The case has been registered under Sections 132 (voluntarily causing hurt), 121(1) (assault or use of criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging official duty), 126(5) (wrongful restraint or confinement by a public servant or in the course of official proceedings), 352 (assault or criminal force otherwise than on grave provocation), and 3(2) (liability of abettors when the act is committed by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Dhalli police station. The police have launched an investigation into the matter.
The complainant, Achal Jindal Singh, alleged that the minister assaulted him and his colleague inside a room at Bhattakuffar in Chamyana, where the building had collapsed the previous day. Jindal claimed that he and site engineer Yogesh Verma were summoned under the pretext of a meeting but were instead assaulted.
“The minister Anirudh Singh took both of us to a nearby room and started assaulting us in front of others. He hit a water earthen pot on my head, causing bleeding. When my colleague Yogesh Verma tried to intervene, he attacked him too. We somehow managed to escape as no one from the administration came to our rescue,” the complaint stated.
He further mentioned that he and his colleague drove to the Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) and Hospital for treatment.
Sources said that as per the FIR, information about the collapsed building was sought from the complainant, which he furnished. However, he alleged that Singh used abusive language against him and then called him and his colleague into a room where they were beaten up.
Despite repeated attempts, the minister was not available for comment.
Both officials were admitted to IGMC in Shimla and their medical reports are awaited. Meanwhile, the NHAI Employees’ Association condemned the alleged assault and sought the intervention of Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari.
Gadkari wrote on X, “The heinous assault on Shri Achal Jindal, Manager, NHAI PIU Shimla, allegedly by the Minister of Panchayati Raj, Himachal Pradesh, and his associates, is deeply reprehensible and an affront to the rule of law. Such a brutal attack on a public servant performing his official duties not only endangers individual safety but also erodes institutional integrity. I have taken serious cognisance of the matter and spoken with the Chief Minister Shri @SukhuSukhvinder ji urging immediate and exemplary action against all perpetrators. Accountability must prevail, and justice must be delivered without delay.”
Leader of Opposition and former Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur demanded that Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu should dismiss Singh from the cabinet.
“This type of anarchy will not be tolerated. The attack on NHAI officers in the presence of a minister and officials is an example of the declining law and order in the state,” he said.
Thakur further stated that both NHAI officials were called to the spot in the presence of the minister, police, and administrative officials and were then beaten up in a closed room. He alleged that it was shameful the assault took place in front of a senior administrative officer and police personnel, and the victims were not even taken to the hospital.