IAS officer abuses elderly priest over public urination in Madhya Pradesh | VIDEO

Madhya Pradesh: An IAS officer named Gajendra Nagesh allegedly slapped a young man at the Barman sand ghat on the banks of the Narmada river in Narsinghpur district of Madhya Pradesh, an incident that has sparked widespread outrage after a video of the episode went viral on Monday.

According to an NDTV report, the incident took place on Saturday and has since drawn accusations of public humiliation, abuse of authority and misconduct by a senior official.

The man involved has been identified as Brijesh Nauriya, who runs a general store near the ghat. According to witnesses, Nauriya had gone behind the ghat area to urinate when the officer arrived and confronted him.

Instead of taking formal action, the officer is accused of slapping Nauriya two to three times, verbally abusing him in public, and threatening to demolish his shop and bar him from operating near the ghat.

The situation reportedly escalated when a local priest, Kailash Chandra Mishra, intervened and drew attention to the lack of public toilet facilities at the ghat.

Mishra later alleged that the officer became enraged, used abusive language, threatened to bury him in the sand, and forced him to do squats as a form of punishment.  "I will bury you in the sand, I will bury you as deep as you are tall," the officer reportedly said.

Written complaint submitted by aggrieved priest

The incident has led to anger among priests and members of the Brahmin community in the district, who have described it as humiliating and an affront to religious dignity. Mishra submitted a written complaint to the District Collector and the Superintendent of Police, seeking a fair inquiry and strict action against the officer, stating that the episode had publicly humiliated him and hurt his religious sentiments.

Sub-Divisional Police Officer Manoj Gupta confirmed that a delegation of around 25 to 30 people from the Brahmin community had submitted a memorandum regarding the incident. 

IAS officer Gajendra Nagesh has defended his conduct, saying his actions were aimed at preventing pollution of the sacred river. He denied any intention to assault anyone, adding that issuing a warning in such circumstances was justified.

Nagesh also said district authorities had decided that shops should be located at least 150 metres away from the riverbank, and that enforcement of this rule may be causing inconvenience to some traders.