IAS Officer Slaps, Abuses Shopkeeper For Urinating Near Sacred Narmada River

An IAS officer Gajendra Nagesh slapped a young man at the Barman sand ghat on the banks of the Narmada River in Narsinghpur district in Madhya Pradesh.

The incident, which occurred on Saturday, has triggered widespread outrage after the video went viral on Monday, with allegations of public humiliation, abuse of authority, and misconduct by a senior official.

The man, identified as Brijesh Nauriya, runs a general store near the ghat.

According to witnesses, he had gone behind the ghat area to urinate when the officer arrived and confronted him.

Instead of initiating formal action, the officer is accused of slapping Brijesh two to three times, abusing him in public, and threatening to demolish his shop and ban him from operating near the ghat.

The situation escalated further when a local priest, Kailash Chandra Mishra, intervened and pointed out the absence of public toilet facilities at the ghat.

Mishra alleged that the officer became enraged, used abusive language, and threatened him, saying, "I will bury you in the sand, I will bury you as deep as you are tall." The priest also claimed that he had been forced to do squats as a form of punishment.

Following the incident, there has been widespread anger among priests and members of the Brahmin community in the district, who have termed the incident humiliating and an insult to religious dignity.

After the video surfaced, Mishra submitted a written complaint to the District Collector and the Superintendent of Police, demanding a fair inquiry and strict action against the officer. He said the incident had publicly humiliated him and hurt his religious sentiments.

Sub-Divisional Police Officer Manoj Gupta confirmed that a delegation of 25-30 people from the Brahmin community submitted a memorandum regarding the incident.

"They allege that the District Panchayat CEO behaved rudely with a member of the community. The video has come to our notice and has been forwarded to senior officials and the concerned police station for necessary action," Gupta said.

Meanwhile, IAS officer Gajendra Nagesh has defended his actions, saying he intended to prevent pollution of the sacred river.

"We explained to him that polluting the holy Narmada in this manner is unacceptable. Despite repeated instructions, there was stubborn behaviour. Our duty is to protect the sanctity of Mother Narmada and Barman. There was no intention to slap anyone, but if someone does something like this, I do not think it is wrong to call them and give them a warning," Nagesh said.

He also said that district authorities have decided that shops should be located at least 150 metres away from the riverbank and that some traders may be facing inconvenience due to the enforcement of this rule.