Told to wear a mask, Andhra govt official assaults woman; arrested
Though other colleagues tried to stop him from assaulting her, he kept raining blows on her. Later, the woman, with the help of other colleagues, lodged a complaint with the police.
The police in Andhra Pradesh’s Nellore district on Tuesday arrested a senior employee of the state tourism department for beating a woman colleague with a stick and abusing her for asking him to wear a face mask as part of Covid-19 norms.
The incident, which happened at AP Tourism Hotel at Dargamitta in Nellore town on Saturday afternoon, came to light today when a video footage obtained from the closed-circuit television cameras of the hotel went viral on social media.
“We have arrested the accused, C Bhaskar, working as deputy manager at the AP Tourism Hotel and he has been sent in judicial remand. A case was booked against him under Section 354 (assaulting a woman intending to outrage her modesty), 355 (using force to dishonour a person) and 324 (causing injuries using a weapon),” Dargamitta sub-inspector of police K Venugopal said.
“Nellore district police are extremely sensitive to any violation or crime against women. Women safety is our top priority,” a tweet from the Nellore police department said.
According to the police, Bhaskar had been nursing a grouse against the 43-year-old woman, who is a contractual employee with the department.
On Saturday, when he was talking to a senior accountant, Narasimha Rao, without wearing a mask, she suggested that he wear a mask because of the Covid-19 situation.
“Enraged at this, Bhaskar allegedly abused her, dragged her from her chair, caught hold of her hair and started beating her on her face and head with a stick pulled out from a wooden chair. He also insulted her in front of others,” the SI said, quoting the complaint.
Though other colleagues tried to stop him from assaulting her, he kept raining blows on her. Later, the woman, with the help of other colleagues, lodged a complaint with the police.
Andhra Pradesh director general of police (DGP) Gautam Sawang directed the Disha police station (exclusive police stations to deal with crime against women) to take up the investigation into the Nellore tourism hotel incident and file the charge sheet within one week.
“Crime against women is unacceptable. We condemn the Nellore incident and action has been taken against the accused for manhandling the lady official,” he said.