A video of the district magistrate of Auraiya in Uttar Pradesh hoisting the national flag upside down went viral on Sunday, but the officer claimed it happened during a trial.
In the video clip, District Magistrate Sunil Kumar Verma can be seen hoisting the flag wrongly as people sing the national anthem.
When contacted, Verma told PTI, "We were conducting the trial of flag hoisting when it was hoisted upside down, but its video and photograph went viral. The trial takes place around 7.45 am, while the actual flag hoisting takes place at 8 am."
He alleged that the local media deliberately spread photographs and video of the flag being wrongly hoisted. "It was a deliberate mischief," he said.
"My fault was that I was undertaking the trial. If anybody else had done the trial, it would not have become an issue," he added.
Published 15 August 2021, 20:53 IST