And the 51-year-old lean, greying HUDA administrator with a receding hairline has no qualms about his tactic on Sunday night at this Delhi suburb, a dramatic action which hit headlines, and is not bothered too if he is called mad.
"People will either consider me mad or I am genuinely right and non-corrupt," a nonplussed Kumar, a homeopathy doctor by training, told PTI.
Kumar literally took matters into his own hands when he took out his shoes and hit himself on the head repeatedly apparently to prove his innocence before a mob in response to allegations that he was favouring a particular builder.
The IAS officer's bizarre act unfolded when he was overseeing a demolition drive at Sikdndarpur area. He has also earned the tag of being a non-conformist for his style of discharging his duties.
The Administrator of Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) insisted he had never taken any bribe, but he was punishing himself since people thought he was corrupt.
Kumar said his punishing act came at the spur of the moment and was not planned.
"I had to do that to avoid police action on the agitating shopkeepers whose shops were being demolished by HUDA," he said.
Kumar said that when these shops were being demolished a large crowd had gathered and was holding HUDA officials responsible, alleging they had taken bribe and allowed these illegal encroachments.
"They were not allowing demolition. I was left with no option either I had to stop the demolition of I have to order the police to take action on the agitating mob. I decided to hurt myself by taking off my shoes amnd hitting my head repeatedly," he added.
Recently shifted to HUDA, Kumar has resorted to unusual acts before.
In May this year, Kumar when he was posted as the Faridabad Deputy Commissioner cleaned the toilet of a public school situated in another Delhi suburb.
The incident happened during an inspection of the school.
Kumar went about the cleaning chores himself when he was told by some of the students that the school had just one sweeper to clean the toilets and he was absent for several days. He quickly went home and picked up a bucket and a broom to the amusement of his wife.
On other occasion, the official had carried a filled 'kadai'(mud pan) on his head after digging mud from a shallow pond. This happened nearly three years ago when he was posted as Additional Deputy Commisiioner in Gurgaon.
Villagers had then complained that officials were not carrying out the cleaning work.
Interestingly, Kumar, considered the 'demolition man', was engaged in yet another demoliton drive today at HUDA Sector 29 at a posh 'commercial area', home to several retail outlets.
