BBMP corporator slaps peon

BBMP corporator from Yediyur N R Ramesh on Wednesday slapped a ‘D’ group employee, a peon, at the Palike office.

The peon did not allow the corporator to enter the cabin of a senior official. Enraged over the incident, the Palike employees union has called for a BBMP bandh on Thursday.

Suresh, who has been working as a peon at the corporation for six years, was posted outside the office of IT cell advisor Sheshadri.

He apparently stopped Ramesh, who had come to meet Sheshadri, at the door and enquired about his identity and appointment details. An enraged Ramesh pushed Suresh aside and entered the office.      
After his meeting with Sheshadri, Ramesh picked up an argument with Suresh. He warned the peon to be careful before stopping people henceforth. As the argument intensified, Ramesh slapped Suresh repeatedly and assaulted him. He was joined by some of his accompanying supporters. 

Suresh told Deccan Herald that he neither misbehaved nor showed any disrespect. “As Ramesh came, I asked him to wait outside as I had to inform the officer and asked his name. This enraged the corporator. He pushed me and barged into the cabin. As he came out after the meeting, he picked up a quarrel, saying that he was a corporator and how dare I stop him and ask his name. He slapped me repeatedly,” he said.

Suresh was administered first aid at Victoria Hospital. Armed with a medical report from the hospital, he lodged a complaint with the Ulsoor Gate police station.

The police have registered a case against Ramesh under Section 353 of the IPC for “assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharging duty.” If convicted, Ramesh might be sentenced to jail for up to two years.

BBMP employees union joint secretary Babu said this was not the first such complaint against the corporator. He recalled that Ramesh had slapped a woman sweeper a year ago. Back then, the mayor had brokered peace between the two. “They might be corporators, but that does not warrant a behaviour like this. Every man will have his own self esteem and the employees are not slaves of the elected representatives. This time, if no action is taken against the corporator, we would organise protests on a massive scale,” Babu said.

Ramesh dismissed the charges as “false allegations to prevent him from bringing transparency in the system by putting all records online.” He claimed to have faced similar situations in the past when he tried to expose the garbage mafia, property owners and telecom firms.