Union minister Nitin Gadkari has condemned the "heinous" assault on NHAI employee Achal Jindal, saying that such a brutal attack on a public servant not only endangers individual safety but also erodes institutional integrity.
Jindal, employed as a manager with the National Highways Authority of India (NHA), and his site engineer Yogesh were allegedly assaulted while inspecting a site in Shimla where a five-storey building had collapsed.
The two employees are under treatment at Indira Gandhi Medical College.
"The heinous assault on Shri Achal Jindal, Manager, NHAI PIU Shimla, allegedly by the Minister of Panchayati Raj, Himachal Pradesh, and his associates, is deeply reprehensible and an affront to the rule of law. Such a brutal attack on a public servant performing his official duties not only endangers individual safety but also erodes institutional integrity," Gadkari wrote in a post on X.
The Union minister of road, transport and highways also said that he spoke with Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu about the incident, "urging immediate and exemplary action against all perpetrators". "Accountability must prevail, and justice must be delivered without delay," he added.
{{/usCountry}}The Union minister of road, transport and highways also said that he spoke with Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu about the incident, "urging immediate and exemplary action against all perpetrators". "Accountability must prevail, and justice must be delivered without delay," he added.
{{/usCountry}}Himachal minister Anirudh Singh was on Tuesday booked for wrongful restraint and voluntarily causing hurt, among other charges, for allegedly assaulting Jindal and Yogesh, police said.
The FIR against the state rural development and Panchayati Raj minister was lodged on the basis of a complaint filed by NHAI manager Achal Jindal. He alleged that Singh called him and his site manager to a room and beat both of them up.
The FIR at the Dhalli police station against Singh has been registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Sections 132 (criminal force to deter public servant while performing his duty), 121 (1) voluntarily causing hurt, 352 (intentional insult), 126 (2) (wrongful restraint) and 3 (5) (criminal act committed by several persons).
BJP leader Vishnu Vardhan Reddy slammed Anirudh Singh over the incident and said that he is a man "known for more hooliganism" and is a close aide of Priyanka Gandhi.
Reddy that this is not just an attack on an officer, but on law, order, and democracy itself.
"Congress talks of “Mohabbat,” but behind the fake smiles lies a party that protects goons, promotes violence, and punishes honesty. The truth is clear: Congress has become a safe haven for criminals in power," Reddy added, sharing a picture of Anirudh Singh with Congress MP Rahul Gandhi.
‘Hit in head with water vessel’
A five-storey building in the Mathu colony in Bhattakufar, on the road leading to Chamiyana Super Speciality Hospital, had collapsed on Monday.
Bhattakufar comes under minister Anirudh Singh's Kasumpti constituency.
Ranjana Verma, the owner of the collapsed building, alleged that the four-laning work had made the building unsafe, and nothing was done to ensure its safety.
ALSO READ | Residents blame NHAI for building collapse in Himachal
According to the NHAI manager's complaint, Singh and his supporters arrived at the building collapse site and called Jindal and Yogesh there.
The two NHAI officials reached the site and briefed the minister about the collapse, 30 metres from the National Highway right of way (ROW). They said that according to the official agreement, damages outside NH-ROW would come under the Himachal Pradesh government's jurisdiction.
Upon being informed about this, Singh began to use rude language with the NHAI officials. "The minister called me and my site engineer Yogesh to a room and physically assaulted me in front of the local residents. He even hit me in the head with a vessel containing water, following which I started to bleed," Jindal said.
He further alleged that when Yogesh tried to save Jindal, the minister beat him too, leaving both of them with "seriously" injured.
Earlier in the day, NHAI chairman Santosh Kumar Yadav also wrote a letter to Himachal Pradesh chief secretary Prabodh Saxena, demanding a detailed inquiry into the incident. "The NHAI is executing projects worth ₹23,729 crore in Himachal and morale of NHAI officers would be affected if action is not taken as per the law," he said.