A verbal altercation involving a Janpad Panchayat Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker during a Su-Shasan Tihar programme in Durg district has triggered a political controversy after a video of the incident surfaced on social media. According to information circulating in connection with the incident, the episode occurred at Dhanod village where a public grievance redressal programme was being held in the presence of local MLA Lalit Chandrakar and administrative officials. The controversy centres around Janpad CEO Rupesh Pandey and BJP Mandal Mahamantri Puran Sahu. In the purported video, the officer is seen engaged in a heated exchange with the BJP worker while several local leaders and members of the public look on. Social media users have widely shared the clip, claiming that the officer challenged the complainant during the interaction. Sources associated with the matter said Sahu had attended the programme to submit a complaint concerning construction of a community hall allegedly being carried out on government school land.

 

It has been alleged that despite objections raised earlier, construction work on the disputed structure continued. The disagreement reportedly escalated when the complainant attempted to submit his representation during the programme. Supporters of the BJP functionary have alleged that he was discouraged from pursuing the complaint and was subjected to inappropriate remarks during the exchange. The issue has drawn attention because the incident allegedly occurred during a flagship public outreach programme intended to address citizens’ grievances. The presence of elected representatives during the confrontation has further fuelled debate on social media platforms. The report also referred to earlier complaints allegedly made against the officer, including a grievance reportedly submitted by a woman secretary in the recent past. However, independent verification of those allegations was not immediately available. However, no official response from the district administration or the officer concerned was available at the time of filing this report.