New Delhi: In Madhya Pradesh's Khargone district, bureaucratic high-handedness came to the fore recently when a District Magistrate (DM) allegedly threatened to slap a man and also sent him to jail after he dared to question the officer about the fate of the panchayat office which was lying defunct for past two years.


The incident took place in front of cameras when DM Ashok Kumar Verma was speaking to media at a function on making the village Open Defecation Free (ODF) in Sanavad area.

When a localite Gambhir Singh Rajput, who was standing nearby, intervened and asked “Do saal se panchayat nahin khulee, aapke aane se khulee, aisa kaise?" (Panchayat office was closed for 2 years and only opened before your visit, how is it possible?)

 Image: Khargone' District Magistrate Ashok Kumar Verma

This enraged the collector overlooked presence of media and said, “Do jhapad dunga to theek ho jaoge (I will slap you and you will be fixed).”

What's more? The man and his friend were sent to jail for breach of peace. Sanawad TI Vinod Soni, reportedly, said that the two were accused of disrupting proceedings at the function.

Reportedly, the panchayat office in the area was lying defunct for past two years.

A wave of anger has swept the state as soon as the video went viral with people from various quarters criticising the bad behaviour of the DM.

No action against the DM

Interestingly, the incident happened on Friday, and till now no action is taken against the DM.

Recently, an SDM in Barwani had sent an old man to jail after the latter asked the bureaucrat about the status of his complaint.

Madhya Pradesh: No enquiry against DM who imprisoned a person for asking question