An FIR has been registered against Chhattisgarh BJP MLA Ramkumar Toppo and more than a dozen of his aides for allegedly assaulting a revenue official. Another FIR was filed against the revenue official based on a complaint by a woman, who accused the official of inappropriate conduct.
The incident took place on Wednesday in Surguja district, when the woman, who said she was a relative of MLA Toppo, approached Naib Tehsilar Tushar Manik’s office, seeking his signature on a document required by jail authorities to release a person on parole.
In her complaint, the woman claimed that the naib tehsildar was angered by her request. “He abused me and made obscene gestures. He then pushed me out. He said he would always behave like this with the Urao people (a local tribal community)… He told his staff that I should not be allowed to come into his office. Several people were gathered there to see the incident.” She alleged that she was treated this way despite the official knowing she was the MLA’s relative.
Naib Tehsilar Tushar Manik denied the allegations. He told The Indian Express, “First, an elderly woman came to my office asking me to sign the incomplete document, which she was required to submit to the jail authorities to get some person out on parole. But I refused as the required documents were not in place, and two witnesses were needed. Later, another woman came and insisted that I sign the document immediately. I told her that my reader was absent and would return the next day, after which the signing process could be completed properly. When I denied her demand, she made false allegations against me.”
Later, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Fagesh Sinha received a phone call from MLA Toppo’s personal assistant, asking Sinha and Manik to come to Rajapur in Mainpat. In his police complaint, Manik said, “When we reached there around 5 pm on Wednesday, MLA Toppo was there with over a dozen men. The MLA intimidated me to sign the paper, and when I refused, they abused and assaulted me. I fell on the ground, and the SDM tried to defend me and get me out of there.”
Based on Manik’s complaint, an FIR was registered against Toppo and others under sections 221 (obstructing public servant), 121(1) (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from performing duty), 132 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant), and 191(2) (rioting) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Manik was also booked based on the woman’s complaint. He was booked under BNS sections 296 (obscenity), 351(2) (criminal intimidation), and 79 (insulting modesty of a woman).
MLA Toppo, a former CRPF jawan, became a first-time MLA from the Sitapur constituency after defeating the Congress’s Amarjeet Bhagat in 2023 when the latter was a minister.
Multiple calls and text messages to Toppo seeking his comment on the matter have gone unanswered.
