Shimla, Jul 1 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh minister Anirudh Singh was on Tuesday booked for wrongful restraint and voluntarily causing hurt after he allegedly assaulted two NHAI officials while inspecting a building collapse site, officials said.
The FIR against the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj minister was lodged on a complaint filed by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) employee Achal Jindal, posted as manager, four-lane project in Shimla, who alleged that he and his site engineer Yogesh were called to a room by Singh and beaten up.
The minister was unavailable for comment.
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari condemned the "heinous assault".
Police said the FIR against Singh has been registered at Dhalli police station under 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) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
In a Facebook post, Gadkari said, "The heinous assault on Achal Jindal, manager NHAI PIU Shimla, allegedly by 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. I have taken serious cognizance of the matter and spoken with Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, urging immediate and exemplary action against all perpetrators," he said.
Accountability should be ensured and justice must be delivered without delay, he added.
A five-storey building collapsed in the Mathu colony, Bhattakufar, on the road leading to Chamiyana Super Speciality Hospital on Monday morning. There was no casualty.
Bhattakufar comes under Singh's Kasumpti constituency.
Building owner Ranjana Verma has alleged that the four-laning work made the building unsafe and that nothing was done to ensure its safety.
According to the FIR, Singh, along with his supporters, arrived at the building collapse site on Monday and called NHAI officers there.
Jindal and his site engineer Yogesh reached the spot and apprised the minister about the collapse, 30 metres from the National Highway right of way (ROW). They informed the minister that according to the official agreement, damages outside NH-ROW would come under the jurisdiction of the Himachal Pradesh government, the FIR stated.
Following this, Singh allegedly started using intemperate language.
"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 him, the accused persons also beat him, leaving both of them with "serious injuries".
The two are undergoing treatment at Indira Gandhi Medical College.
Earlier in the day, NHAI Chairman Santosh Kumar Yadav wrote a letter to Himachal Pradesh Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena, demanding a detailed inquiry into the incident and that action be taken against all those responsible.
"The NHAI is executing projects worth Rs 23,729 crore in Himachal and the morale of NHAI officers would be affected if action is not taken as per the law," he said.
Opposition BJP leaders condemned the incident and demanded Singh's removal.
Leader of Opposition in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly Jai Ram Thakur also demanded that Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu remove Singh.
Hamirpur MP Anurag Thakur said the mysterious death of Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited chief engineer Vimal Negi is still being investigated and another case of a minister beating an official has come to light, which is unfortunate.
There has been no reaction from the Congress government on the issue so far.