UP govt removes Amethi DM over ‘misbehaviour’ with slain man’s family

The Uttar Pradesh government removed Amethi district magistrate (DM) Prashant Sharma on Thursday, a day after widespread outrage over his alleged misbehaviour with the relative of a murdered man in the district.

The state government, in a press release, said Sharma has been removed and Arun Kumar, vice-chairman Moradabad Development Authority (MDA), appointed the DM, Amethi.

Union minister and Amethi MP Smriti Irani on Wednesday tweeted about the incident, asking the DM to be courteous and sensitive. “We all are servants of the public and not rulers,” she said. A viral video showed Sharma holding a family member of the deceased and pushing him without any provocation. The incident took place during a protest after the man’s murder.

Sharma was removed despite a clarification from Sunil Singh, the deceased’s cousin. In a statement to the media, Singh said, “The video aired by the news channels has been edited. The DM heard my grievances and assured to do the needful.”

Trader Vijay Kumar Singh, who owned a brick kiln, was shot dead allegedly over an extortion demand of ₹ 2 lakh barely 500 metres from the office of the superintendent of police (SP), Amethi at around 7pm on Tuesday. His brother Arpit Kumar Singh accused two people, Chandrashekhar Kesarwani and Shubham Tiwari, and three unidentified persons, in the FIR lodged with the Gauriganj police station in connection with the murder. Earlier, Sharma had said, “I did not misbehave... The video that went viral was only a part of my conversation with the family.”

Before being removed on Thursday, Sharma took to social media to clarify his point. He not only posted a video of Sunil Singh issuing a clarification on the Twitter handle of DM Amethi but also posted a statement which said that “media is an important pillar of democracy, yet it is not infallible.”