New Style in Chhattisgarh; Collector becomes Municipal officer

     Raipur, March 26, 2011: Adopting a new style of administration, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh today made Dantewada District Collector R Prasanna as a municipal officer of Raipur.

     It has happened for the first time since the creation of Chhattisgarh in November 1, 2000 that a District Collector was made Commissioner of a local body.

     Prasanna has been posted as the Commissioner Raipur Municipal Corporation and in his place a 2005 batch IAS Om Prakash Choudhary has been made District Collector of Dantewada.

     Prasanna, a 2004 batch IAS was posted in Dantewada only on September 14, 2010. Before that he was the District Collector of Bijapur.

     In another significant development DIG cum Senior Superintendent of Police Dantewada S R P Kalluri has also been shifted as DIG Sarguja.

     Mahasamund District Superintendent of Police Ankit Garg is the new SP Dantewada and AIG Police Headquarters Dhruv Gupta is the new SP Mahasamund.

     Although the government order was silent on the reason for unceremonious shifting of Prasanna and Kalluri from Dantewada, but informed sources claimed the decision was taken after a mob, in the presence of a huge police force, attacked and assaulted Swami Agnivesh and the vehicles carrying him and many journalists were damaged near Dornapal, when they were proceeding towards Tadmetla area.

     Reports reaching here said when Swami Agnivesh, Rishi Milind and a host of media persons were proceeding towards Tadmetla, Timmapuram and Morpalli villages to probe the allegation of burning of about 300 houses by police on March 13, they were confronted by a hostile mob near Dornapal.

     The vehicles of Agnivesh and others were targetted with eggs and stones by an unruly mob, which questioned the intention of the visitors and accused them of taking sides of Maoists.

     The mob also damaged vehicles and other properties, including mobile phones and cameras of the media persons, the reports said.

     The tyres of the car of Swami Agnivesh were deflated, a PUCL statement condemning the incident also said.

        Reports in national media had said a joint police party of CRPF and Koya Commandos had gone on a three day operation of Chintalnar area on March 13, last and during that period they had killed one innocent person, sexually abused some women and burnt about 300 houses for no reasons.

     Dantewada District Collector R Prasanna has told ChhattisgarhTopNews.Com “there were media reports that some houses of Tadmetla, Timmapuram and Morpalli have been burnt by police, but so far I have not received any complaint from any of the villagers.”

     The District Collector has also said he has constituted an Inquiry committee headed by Sub Divisional Magistrate Sukma Surendra Vaidya to probe the incident.