Road 'dug up' with bulldozer for 'commission' in UP's Shahjahanpur, CM orders for recovery from accused

Shahjahanpur (UP): A half-a-kilometre stretch of a road being laid by the public works department (PWD), connecting Shahjahanpur to Budaun, was allegedly dug up with the help of a bulldozer by a representative of a BJP MLA for non-payment of "commission" by the contractor.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has taken note of the incident and ordered for full recovery of the damage from those who have dug the road, a senior official said.

An FIR has been registered on a complaint from Ramesh Singh, the manager of the construction company, against 15-20 unidentified people. The complainant has alleged that one of the accused is the representative of Veer Vikram Singh, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Katra.

The FIR was lodged under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act on October 3.

The complainant has alleged that Jagveer Singh, who introduced himself as the representative of the MLA, intimidated the employees of the construction company on several occasions and demanded a "5 per cent commission" (money to carry out the construction work) from the firm.

"When this commission was not given, they dug up half a kilometre of the road built by us with a bulldozer on October 2," he alleged in his complaint.

Quoting from the FIR, Superintendent of Police (SP) Ashok Kumar Meena told PTI that the road is being constructed from Jaitipur via Nawada to Budaun district.

It is alleged that Jagveer Singh reached the road construction site with 15 to 20 men, beat up the workers engaged in the work with sticks and dug half a kilometre of the road with a bulldozer, the SP said.

He said attempts are on to arrest the accused.

Additional District Magistrate Sanjay Kumar Pandey said detailed information has been sought from the executive engineer of the PWD and a team formed under the Tilhar sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) to probe the matter.

He said legal action will be taken after the team submits its report and added that the road construction work has started again and police have been asked to provide adequate security to the workers.

Asked about the development, MLA Veer Vikram Singh said accused Jagveer Singh is not his representative, but accepted that he is a BJP worker.

"I have nothing to do with him," he said.

A senior official in Lucknow said the chief minister has taken note of the incident and directed for full recovery of the damage from those who have dug the road.