High drama after SAD councillor ‘slaps’ senior engineer in Ludhiana MC office over “potholed roads”
Tensions boil over in Zone-B office as opposition councillor accuses engineer of favouring AAP MLA’s works, claims teen’s death triggered the showdown
Arora slapped Singla during a heated argument over the abysmal condition of roads. (File Photo) High drama erupted inside the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation’s Zone-B office on Wednesday when Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) councillor Chatarveer Singh alias Kamal Arora allegedly barged into the chamber of superintendent engineer (roads) Parveen Singla and slapped him during a heated argument over the abysmal condition of roads.
According to accounts, Arora, the councillor from ward number 20, stormed into Singla’s office over pending road repair works in his constituency. The confrontation quickly turned ugly, with the councillor allegedly roughing up and slapping the senior B&R branch officer.
Speaking to The Indian Express, a visibly upset Singla said he would file a written complaint to MC commissioner Neeru Katyal. “The councillor misbehaved with me. It is the work of the XEN and JEs to prepare budget estimates for pending road works, not mine. I only process those files. I have never blocked any files. I will be revealing details of the incident in my written complaint to the commissioner,” he said.
Arora, however, painted a starkly different picture, blaming official apathy for the death of a 15-year-old boy in his ward two months ago. He claimed Singla was selectively clearing files only for the local Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA.
“He (Singla) blatantly said that he would get only those works done which would be cleared by local Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Daljit Singh Grewal Bhola. They can’t stop work in our ward just because we are in Opposition. Two months ago, a 15-year-old boy died in my ward due to potholed roads. Since then I have been requesting them to get roads made but no one listens. Today, I clearly told him that he has to get everyone’s work done, not just MLA’s. He has to clear our blocked files, it is our right. He misbehaved, started shouting and then a minor scuffle happened. I did not slap him,” claimed Arora.
Zonal commissioner, Zone-B, Neeraj Jain distanced himself from the clash, saying: “I wasn’t present in Singla’s office when this all happened.”
Jasdev Singh Sekhon, MC Employee Union chief and zonal commissioner for Zone-D, threw his weight behind the engineer: “We will stand with our colleague with whom the councillor allegedly misbehaved. We will decide further course of action in the union’s meeting tomorrow.”
The incident has sharpened political fault lines in the MC, especially since Arora had switched to AAP some months ago before rejoining the SAD.
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