FIR against ex-Jharkhand minister for ‘slapping’ bodyguards, hurling ‘casteist abuses’

Medininagar (Jharkhand), Sep 4 (PTI) Two bodyguards of former cabinet minister and Congress leader K N Tripathi have lodged a police complaint against him for allegedly hurling casteist abuses and slapping them for failing to clear a traffic snarl in Latehar district.

Medininagar Town police station officer-in-charge, Jyoti Lal Rajwar, told PTI that the bodyguards – a tribal and a Dalit – have lodged a ‘Zero FIR’ on Wednesday.

“As per the complaint, the incident happened on Tuesday afternoon in Latehar district when the Congress leader was stuck in a traffic jam at Jubilee Chowk in Latehar. We have transferred the FIR to the Latehar police station for further action,” Rajwar said.

A case has been lodged under sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, police said.

Tripathi, however, dismissed the allegations and claimed that the FIR was lodged to exact revenge.

“I just asked my bodyguards to be more vigilant, and got the road cleared on my own in a few minutes. I did not beat or abuse anyone. Everything is captured in the CCTV.

“When the bodyguards failed to clear the snarl, but I could do it in a few minutes, they felt insulted and lodged the FIR against me,” Tripathi, a former rural development and panchayati raj minister, claimed.

Meanwhile, the Jharkhand Police Men’s Association said it has written to DGP Anurag Gupta to take stern action against the leader.

“In the complaint, both the bodyguards... mentioned they were trying to clear the traffic jam. However, the leader in an infuriated condition slapped them while hurling casteist abuses for failing to clear the snarl. It is an insult to the entire police fraternity. We want strong action against the Congress leader,” the association’s regional president Karna Kumar Singh said. PTI CORR ANB RBT