MP Man Seeks Action Against Collector For Sending Him to Jail for Complaining About Bad Roads

Narsinghpur: A 61-year-old man has sought action against the collector of Madhya Pradesh's Narsinghpur district for sending him to jail for raising the plight of deteriorating roads in his native village. He also accused the administration of denying him bail for four days.

Purohit, from village Khurpa, has been raising the plight of bad roads in his village with various government agencies, including Public Works Department. Purohit was attending the "jan sunwai" programme of Narsinghpur Collector Abhay Verma on August 21 when he was arrested.

Verma, Purohit alleged, sent him to the PWD counter at the public hearing but no one was present there.

"The collector told me that Public Works Department (PWD) officials would sort out this complaint. But I pointed out to him that PWD officials were not even present at the public hearing," said Purohit.

"As I was speaking, the collector told me that I talk a lot of nonsense and that he would send me to jail," Purohit alleged, adding that police then took him away and produced him before the sub divisional magistrate's court.

He was granted bail only after four days. Saddened by the humiliation and insensitive treatment meted out to him, the old man has lodged a complaint with the Superintendent of Police DS Bhaudauria against the collector.

Speaking on the issue, collector Abhay Verma, however, said that the man was drunk and was creating ruckus during the public hearing.

Legal experts said arrest under section 151 is a bailable offence and lodging someone behind bars for four days was illegal.

“Let them scan the CCTV footage of the said incident and I am ready to face any punishment if I have done anything wrong,” said Purohit, adding he had apologised several times after the collector had got him arrested.

The SP confirmed that a man has submitted a complaint and his office was busy examining the complaint.

Madhya Pradesh Congress head Kamal Nath compared the incident to undeclared emergency, and fired a tweet saying “an old man was jailed for raising a demand for making his village roads at par with those in US. May be they are farmers, youths, the poor; no one has the right to raise voice in Shivraj government.”

The BJP though blamed the man for exhibiting such hurry.

BJP spokesperson Rajnish Agrawal said the aggrieved man should have shown patience as no complaint could be addressed in a single day.