Barely months after the Delhi Lok Ayukta indicted an MLA for manhandling two Delhi Jal Board engineers, yet another case of a DJB engineer being allegedly roughed up by an MLA from Bijwasan has come to light.
According to DJB officials, Superintending Engineer of South West Zone Ramesh Thakur was allegedly roughed up by Bijwasan MLA Sat Prakash Rana on Thursday evening.
“The MLA went to his office to discuss the possibility of boring tube-wells in his area. Since South-West Delhi falls in the critical zone, the official tried to reason with him. While the MLA’s men prevented the DJB staff from entering Mr. Thakur’s office, the MLA hit him with a paper weight,” said a Jal Board official.
Protesting against the attack, a delegation of engineers met Jal Board Vice-Chairperson Ramakant Goswami and its Chief Executive Officer Ramesh Negi. “The medical examination of Mr. Thakur was conducted at Safdarjung Hospital, which confirmed injuries and an FIR has been lodged,” the official added.
The delegation pointed out that in recent times this is the third such instance where MLAs have been directly involved in assaulting officials on duty. The engineers have demanded protection while working in the field and have cautioned the management that if such incidents continued unabated, it will be very difficult for them to attend work.
“A sense of insecurity among the staff is likely to affect the delivery of services also. The engineers have demanded strong action against such individuals who do not have respect for the law of the land,” the official said.
“Both Mr. Goswami and Mr. Negi have assured that the matter has been brought to the notice of the Chief Minister and the Chief Secretary and appropriate directions have already been issued to the police to take immediate action,” he added.
