An inebriated Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) town planning official who went berserk at a J.P. Nagar resident's home, was thrashed by an outraged public in the early hours of Saturday.
At about 2 a.m., Ravikumar V. Patil, Assistant Director of Town Planning, Bommanahalli, went to the house of K.P. Bhat in Panduranganagar in J.P. Nagar 7th Phase along with some of his staff. Calling Mr. Bhat out of the house, Mr. Patil asked him to vacate the house immediately as he had violated building norms. Shocked by Mr. Patil's demand, Mr. Bhat said the BBMP had not informed him about any violation.
Enraged by Mr. Bhat's reply, Mr. Patil broke some flowerpots and damaged the flooring. When Mr. Bhat tried to prevent him, Mr. Patil allegedly hit him.
The aghast family called neighbours, who beat up Mr. Patil before calling the police.
Acting on Mr. Bhat's complaint, the J.P. Nagar police arrested Mr. Patil and subjected him to medical examination, which showed indications of consumption of alcohol.
Decision on Monday
The BBMP's top brass is expected to meet on Monday to discuss the action to be taken against Mr. Patil.
Mayor S.K. Nataraj told The Hindu he had already contacted Commissioner Siddaiah.
“It was absolutely wrong on [Mr. Patil's] part. I'm not sure of his intentions — whether he had a personal grudge against the complainant or not. Even if there were violations, he has the authority to take action only during office hours. It is unpleasant to hear about such actions by a senior official,” he said.
