On Sunday (May 23, 2021), Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel directed that the Collector of Surajpur district Ranbir Sharma be removed from his role after a video of him hitting a man for violating COVID-19 norms went viral on social media platforms.
A coronavirus-induced lockdown has been imposed in the district, which is about 340 kilometers from Raipur, and a man, identified as Aman Mittal (23), was stopped by the collector and a police posse, according to an official.
The guy can be seen in the video showing a sheet of paper and something on his phone to the collector, who takes the gadget and drops it to the ground.
The senior official is then seen punching the man and urging two police officers to run to the scene and begin beating the man with sticks.
When the viral video caught the attention of Chhattisgarh’s Chief Minister, he took it to a microblogging website to address the public and directed officials to evict the collector from his role. Gaurav Kumar Singh, an IAS officer, has been appointed as the current District Magistrate.
Collector Ranbir Sharma said in a statement released on Saturday, “Today, a video of me slapping a man who was outside during lockdown went viral on social media. I truly apologize for my behavior today. I had no intention of disrespecting or belittling the person in the video.”
“In this pandemic condition, the district of Surajpur, as well as the entire state of Chhattisgarh, has suffered irreparable loss of life. We are all working together as state government workers to solve this issue “He went on to say in his speech.
Sharma claimed that he had recovered from coronavirus when his mother was still fighting the infection, and he urged people to strictly adhere to COVID-19 norms in place so that the COVID-19 epidemic could be controlled.
Sharma also stated that, contrary to popular belief, the man in the video was a 23-year-old man.
“He was on a bike and was going too fast. In addition, the guy misbehaved with officials “, the collector explained.
According to a police officer, the man was charged under the Epidemic Diseases Act with violating COVID-19 norms.
