Thrash those defecating in open, says UP bureaucrat

A senior bureaucrat triggered a controversy after he asked the officials to thrash, those defecating in the open, with lathis and put them into jail.

Ram Manohar Mishra, who was the district magistrate of union minister Smriti Irani's Lok Sabha constituency of Amethi, about 150 kilometres from here, gave the controversial instruction at a 'chaupal' (meeting) at Kathaura in the district.

He also asked the officials to make the video of the act (defecating in the open) and launch prosecution against such persons.

''Take pictures and make video of their act....we will get the pictures published in the newspapers so that the entire country get to know about them,'' Mishra was heard saying in the meeting.

''Book such people....thrash them with lathis if they create problems and put them in jails,'' the DM said.

The bureaucrat had perhaps no idea that someone made the video of the entire program and made it viral on the social networking sites.

Incidentally, Mishra was embroiled in yet another controversy. In another video, which went viral on the social sites, a man was seen wiping his (Mishra) shoes while he was leaving a cow shelter at Musafirkhana area in the district.

It later turned out that cow dung had stuck with Mishra's shoes during the visit, which was wiped off by the man.

The bureaucrat, however, said that the man in question tried to touch his feet but he asked him not to do so.