Himachal Minister Booked over Alleged Assault on NHAI Officials

Shimla, Jul 1 (PTI) — Himachal Pradesh minister Anirudh Singh faced serious allegations on Tuesday, as he was booked for wrongful restraint and voluntarily causing hurt, among other charges. These allegations stem from an incident involving the alleged assault of two officials from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) while inspecting a site where a five-storey building had collapsed, according to police reports.

The Rural Development and Panchayati Raj minister was named in an FIR following a complaint by Achal Jindal, a NHAI employee and manager of the four-lane project. Jindal claimed that he and his site engineer, Yogesh, were summoned to a room by Singh and subsequently assaulted. Both NHAI employees are now receiving medical treatment in a hospital.

Sought for comment, the minister was unreachable.

Law enforcement stated that the FIR against Singh was lodged at Dhalli police station under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Section 132 for using criminal force to deter a public servant from duty, Section 121 (1) for voluntarily causing hurt, Section 352 for intentional insult, Section 126 (2) for wrongful restraint, and Section 3 (5) for a criminal act committed by several persons.

The collapse of the five-storey building occurred in Mathu Colony, Bhattakufar, along the route to Chamiyana Super Speciality Hospital on Monday morning. Fortunately, no casualties were reported. Bhattakufar falls under Singh's Kasumpti constituency.

Ranjana Verma, the building's owner, alleged that ongoing four-laning work compromised the building's integrity, and no preventive measures were taken to ensure its safety.

According to Jindal's complaint, Singh and his supporters visited the collapse site on Monday, summoning the NHAI officers there. Jindal and engineer Yogesh arrived and explained that the collapse occurred 30 meters from the National Highway right of way (ROW), clarifying that damages outside the NH-ROW are under the jurisdiction of the Himachal Pradesh government. Jindal claimed that this prompted Singh to begin using offensive language.

"The minister called me and my site engineer Yogesh to a room and physically assaulted me in the presence of local residents. He even struck me on the head with a water-filled vessel, causing my head to bleed," Jindal recounted.

He further alleged that when Yogesh attempted to intervene, the minister attacked him as well, resulting in "serious injuries" to both officials. Currently, they are undergoing treatment at the Indira Gandhi Medical College.

Earlier in the day, NHAI Chairman Santosh Kumar Yadav communicated with Himachal Pradesh Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena, requesting a thorough investigation into the incident and calls for accountability.

"The NHAI is handling projects worth Rs 23,729 crore in Himachal and the morale of NHAI officers would be adversely affected if action is not taken as per the law," Yadav stressed.

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