Bajrang Dal leader threatens ARTO staff of assault

NOIDA: The fact that touts are proliferating in the transport department of GB Nagar came out in the open when a group of men led by the district convenor of the Bajrang Dal barged into the ARTO office to get a renewal of a fitness certificate of a vehicle owner and threatened employees when a worker’s work was delayed.
The Bajrang Dal workers also claimed that a “tout” by the name of Sunil Lingwal who was found sitting on the chair of the accused.
Bajrang Dal district convenor Jitendra Chaudhary along with two others were caught on camera threatening the employees of the transport department when their worker alleged that his work was being delayed.
The incident took place around 2.30pm on Tuesday when three men including Jitendra Chaudhary, Anoop Upadhyay and Neeraj Shukla arrived at the office and demanded that a file pertaining to the fitness renewal of one of the Bajrang Dal workers be brought out and cleared.
“I am Jitendra Chaudhary from Bajrang Dal…See what is the problem I opening the lock? Open the lock and we will see the file. What is the problem,” Jitendra can be heard saying in one of the videos.
“Since I have come, I don’t know who has the key,” the employee can be heard telling the leader.
“This attitude that you have of being an official, this you can show at home,” states Jitendra.
When the employee asks what Jitendra can do, the latter asks what he wants to be broken.
“What do you want to be broken? Should I break the second one,” he asks the employee who had a dressing in his right hand.
Upon this, when the employee tells him that he can break it, Anoop Upadhyay and others start intervening asking him not to be aggressive.
In another video, Jitendra can be heard threatening the officials saying that he already has some 15-20 cases against him and doesn’t care about more.
“Neither I am working nor my political post is going to be snatched…Media is not going to affect me, in the last, you know what the media will say that Bajrang Dal goons came and left after giving a beating...,” he said.
Soon after, a second person accompanying the workers can be heard saying that people would say that “Bajrang Dal goons came and left after beating.
“…then what will you do?,” he says.
“Anyone misbehaving..whether it is ARTO. FIR can be lodged…already 15-20 (cases) are going on…let there be two-three more,” says the second person.
While the transport department officials said that the accused who barged in along with the Bajrang Dal members were “touts” operating in the transport department premises, the latter claimed that they were upset since a worker could not get his file and was misbehaved with.
Lalit Sharma, president, GBNagar unit of Bajrang Dal told TOI that district convenor Jitendra Chaudhary had gone to the ARTO office with his workers when one of their workers alleged that the employees were not listening to him and his work was being delayed.
“Jitendra had gone to the ARTO office when one of the workers informed that his file was not being taken out despite his request. When he asked the official to give the file, he told him that they should move out to which Jitendra took offense. He saw a tout sitting in one of the cabins which led to the argument getting escalated,” he said.
ARTO Arunendra Pandey told TOI that Anoop Upadhyay and Neeraj Tyagi and others are touts operating near the premises who don’t let officials work.
“We are filing an FIR against the accused,” he said.
An FIR was later lodged against the accused Anoop Upadhyay and Neeraj Tyagi under IPC sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 332 (whoever voluntarily causes hurt to any person being a public servant in the discharge of his duty as such public servant), 147 (rioting), 504 (intentional insult to break public peace), 506 (criminal intimidaiton) and five unknown persons.
Bajrang Dal’s Jitendra Chaudhary has not been named in the FIR.
Additional DCP (Noida) Ranvijay Singh said that inquiry will be done in connection with the unknown accused persons.
Neeraj Shukla alleged that he too has given a complaint at the Sector 24 police station but his FIR is not being lodged.
In his complaint, he has alleged that he had come to the office to get his duplicate license when “agents” Sunil Lingwal, Ankit Mishra and employee Anuj Sharma started targeting him saying that he had lodged a complaint against Ajay Sharma, a clerk who has been working in the department since long.
“They asked to leave and slapped me,” he claimed.