Karnal SDM shifted, days after ‘crack the heads’ remark

THE SAMYUKT KISAN MORCHA HAS DEMANDED AYUSH SINHA’S DISMISSAL AND REGISTRATION OF A MURDER CASE AGAINST HIM

CHANDIGARH: The Haryana government on Wednesday transferred Karnal sub- divisional magistrate Ayush Sinha, who was recently caught on tape allegedly telling policemen dealing with a farmers’ protest to “break their heads”.

Sinha, a 2018-batch Haryana cadre IAS officer, will now be the additional secretary of the citizen resources information department, a government order said, adding that he has been shifted against a vacant post. The CRID has been dealing with some of the flagships programmes the progress of which chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar personally monitors.

Sinha is among the 19 IAS officers who were either transferred or given additional charge. The move to transfer Sinha comes a day after the Haryana government sought a report from Karnal deputy commissioner on the officer’s video. Chief secretary Vijai Vardhan had reportedly asked the DC to also hear the SDM’S side of the story before preparing the report.

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of farmers’ outfits spearheading the stir against the Centre’s farm laws, has demanded Sinha’s dismissal and registration of a murder case against him. The Morcha had fixed September 6 as the deadline to meet its demands while threatening to lay siege to the Karnal minisecretariat.

The IAS officer, on his part, had said the video was edited and that selective portions of his instructions were shown to create a controversy.

Khattar had earlier admitted that the choice of words by the SDM was wrong but had defended the police action. Deputy CM Dushyant Chautala had also disapproved of his remark and promised action against Sinha.