MP official 'humiliates' junior in office

The incident occured yesterday when B D Prajapati, Agriculture Extension Officer of Patharia block, went to Deputy Director's Office at Damoh with a farmer, Ved Prakash Parihar, to inquire about the status of a farm loan sanctioned to the latter.

However, the deputy director Rajesh Tripathi allegedly got so annoyed with his junior's "proactiveness" that he ordered him to remain in a "bend forward posture" for 20 minutes as a punishment, while threatening to suspend him, Parihar, who claims to be the witness to the officer's ordeal, told reporters today.

Prajapati had no option but to oblige, he said, adding that the former left the office quietly and did not discuss the issue with anyone.

However, Parihar informed the employees union about the incident, following which a demonstration against Tripathi for registration of FIR was held today.

Tripathi, however, denied the allegation, saying he merely "scolded" the officer for neglecting his duty at the place of his posting and coming all the way to Damoh from there.

Meanwhile, Damoh's SP-in-Charge, Mukesh Shrivastava, told reporters today that he had received a complaint from the Union and has forwarded it for verification.

"Depending upon the merit of the complaint will we register a case against the concerned official," he said.