Chattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Bhagel on Sunday (May 23, 2021) directed that a new mobile phone as compensation be given to the man whose mobile phone got damaged during the alleged misbehavior by the Collector.

The order from the Chief Minister came a day after a video of Surajpur District Collector Ranbir Sharma slapping a man and throwing away his phone for flouting lockdown rules went viral on social media.

“Chief Minister @bhupeshbhagel has instructed that a new mobile phone should be made available to the youth in Surajpur as a compensation for the damaged mobile of the young man during misbehavior by the Collector” tweeted the CMO.

The viral video shows the young man who was driving his two-wheeler amid a complete lockdown that has been imposed in the district. He was then stopped by the Police and the District Collector. The Collector can be seen questioning him about being out on the streets. Thereafter the Collector snatches his mobile phone and thrashes it towards the ground. The Collector then proceeds to slap the young man and directs the security personnel to hit him. 

Chief Minister taking cognizance of the incident condemned the act of the Collector and apologized to the young man and his family. The Chief Minister also instructed that Collector Ranbir Sharma be removed with immediate effect.

CK Khaitan, President of Chattisgarh IAS Association, speaking on this incident, stated that “A senior officer should not behave like this. One can always take appropriate action against any person whose behavior is not Covid appropriate but this kind of behavior is not acceptable. Sharma should compensate for his phone from his personal income”.

Ranbir Sharma issued a public apology for his misbehavior stating that his intention was never to disrespect anyone. He later went on to explain that the man in the viral video had lied to the officials stating that he was on a vacation and had no proper documents to justify his claim and was also misbehaving with the officials. 

The man in the video has been charged under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 for violating Covid-19 norms.