A video of a heated altercation between Pratapgarh sub-divisional magistrate Chhotu Lal Sharma and staff members of a petrol pump that also sells CNG went viral on social media on Thursday. It showed Sharma slapping a staff member after a dispute over service priority. The incident was captured on a CCTV camera.
The altercation allegedly broke out over the staff member filling CNG in another car before the officer's vehicle, according to PTI news agency. Following the incident, a woman who identified herself as Sharma's wife lodged a complaint, after which three petrol pump employees were arrested.
In a video which is doing the rounds on social media, the woman, Deepika Vyas, says that the family was travelling to their native village for Diwali celebrations when they stopped at the petrol pump.
Vyas alleged that the some of the employees at the petrol pump were making lewd gestures when the family was seated in the car.
She said that she got out of the car along with her two month-old child, and other members. “They made us get off the vehicle and stand on the side. According to the rules, our vehicle should have been filled first,” Vyas alleged, adding that they were made to wait deliberately.
{{/usCountry}}She said that she got out of the car along with her two month-old child, and other members. “They made us get off the vehicle and stand on the side. According to the rules, our vehicle should have been filled first,” Vyas alleged, adding that they were made to wait deliberately.
{{/usCountry}}She added that the employee had started filling the tank of the vehicle behind them, without asking the passengers of that car to get off. “After seeing this, my husband went there to ask what the staff was doing,” Vyas claimed.
The video of the incident shows that the dispute broke out over the staff member prioritising the other vehicle first. In the clip, Sharma is heard saying,“Main SDM hoon, SDM hoon main yahan ka … pehle tereko pata nahi gaadi lagi hui hai ((I am the SDM here, don’t you know my vehicle is parked here?).”
Another staff member can be seen intervening after Sharma slaps the petrol pump employee twice. However, Sharma also slaps the staff member who was trying to mediate, who hits back.
Following the incident, three members of the petrol pump staff were arrested based on his wife's complaint, and subsequently released on bail.
Meanwhile, other reports suggest that Vyas is not the legally wedded wife of SDM Sharma. According to an India Today report, Sharma is married to one Poonam Sharma, who is living separately with her children after he allegedly threw them out of the house. Sharma has also been removed from his post thrice during his career, and served as the SDM of Mandal subdivision in Bhilwara district twice, India Today reported. Sharma has not reacted to these allegations.