BBMP staff suspended for assault in census drive

NT Correspondent
Bengaluru

Three employees of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) have been suspended following an incident where they allegedly assaulted a home-owner who questioned them for pasting a "caste census complete" sticker without actually conducting a survey. The order for suspension was issued by the Joint Commissioner of the Rajarajeshwari Nagar Zone.

The directive states that the three BBMP employees have been suspended for dereliction of duty in connection with the task of affixing stickers for the 2025 Comprehensive Survey of Scheduled Castes. The suspended employees are identified as Ramesh, a Revenue Inspector working in the H.B.R. Layout sub-division, and Pedduraju and C. Sandil Kumar, both Revenue Collectors, with Sandil Kumar working in the Kengeri sub-division office.

Their suspension is on grounds of dereliction of duty. The incident occurred at the home of Nandish, located on 7th Cross, Sarv- abhauma Nagar, Chikkalasandra. BBMP staff had pasted a sticker indicating that the caste census was complete. The home-owner alleged that when he questioned this, he was assaulted. Shashank, the home- owner's son, recounted the events: "We were all inside the house when the civic workers pasted the sticker.

My father questioned it, asking why a survey hadn't been conducted and where the documentation was. The staff replied that it was just a task assigned to them." He further added, "About an hour later, they returned with a supervisor and verbally abused my father, kicked him, and slapped him. They also didn't have their ID cards." Shashank stated that he, his mother, and father had gone to the Subramanyapura Police Station to file a complaint.

However, the staff apologized, and they decided not to pursue the complaint at that time. Amidst these complaints, there are allegations that BBMP staff, including civic workers and even water board employees, are haphazardly pasting stickers on houses without speaking to residents, merely as a formality for the survey.