In the video, the IAS officer was seen slapping the student repeatedly.
- The official in the video is Sanjeev Srivastava, the district magistrate of Bhind
- In the video, he was seen confronting the student, dragging him out of his chair and slapping him repeatedly
- The IAS officer has defended his action, saying he was acting on a complaint of mass cheating at the college
A government official was seen slapping a student multiple times during an exam in Madhya Pradesh's Bhind district. The video from April 1 has now gone viral on social media.
The official seen in the video is the district magistrate of Bhind, Sanjeev Srivastava, and the incident took place during the BSc 2nd year Mathematics exam at Deendayal Dangraulia Mahavidyalaya.
In the video, Mr Srivastava - with a paper in hand - was seen confronting the student, dragging him out of his chair and slapping him repeatedly. In another video, he was seen escorting the student to another room, which looked like a staff room. The officer then hands over the paper to a man in the room while pointing towards the student, identified as Rohit Rathore.
Mr Srivastava then turns to Mr Rathore and asks, "Where is your paper?" while slapping him twice.
Rohit Rathore alleged that the beating affected his ear. "Because he is an IAS officer, I couldn't say anything," he said.
Sanjeev Srivastava, however, defended his action while speaking exclusively to NDTV. He said he had received complaints of mass cheating at the college. He alleged that some students had smuggled the question papers outside, got them solved, and were bringing in the solved papers. "I went there to investigate an organised cheating racket. I have also written to the university recommending that the college not be used as an examination centre in the future," Mr Srivastava said.
As per senior officials, the college belongs to Narayan Dangraulia, the father-in-law of Hemant Katare, who is the deputy leader of the opposition in Madhya Pradesh.
This is not the first time collector Sanjeev Srivastava has come under the spotlight for controversial reasons.
A few days back, the Gwalior bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, while hearing a case related to the Public Works Department, remarked on Mr Srivastava's conduct, saying: "The Chief Secretary should decide whether such an officer should continue in the field or not."
Adding to the mounting pressure, Tehsildar Mala Sharma, currently posted in Bhind, has recently accused Collector Srivastava and SDM Parag Jain of mental harassment. In a letter addressed to the Chief Minister, she wrote: "If anything happens to me due to this torture, the responsibility will lie with Collector Sanjeev Srivastava and Gohad SDM Parag Jain."
