A case has been registered against 4 Congress MLAs for protesting without permission (Representational)

Indore:

Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Rakesh Sharma, who kneeled before three protesting Congress MLAs, urging them to end their protest, has been issued a show-cause notice by the Indore District Collector Manish Singh on Saturday.

A video which had gone viral on social media showed Rakesh Sharma kneeling before Congress legislators – Jitu Patwari, Vishal Patel and Sanjay Shukla – as they staged a protest against the BJP government’s “failure” in coping with the coronavirus pandemic in Madhya Pradesh.

“The way the SDM carried himself and talked to public representatives protesting without permission was against the dignity and conduct of the executive magistrate,” Manish Singh said in the notice.

“This has sullied the image of the administration,” the notice added, seeking to know why disciplinary action should not be taken against the sub-divisional magistrate.

According to eye-witnesses, Rakesh Sharma went to the venue of the sit-in protest and knelt before the three Congress MLAs while talking to with folded hands, requesting them to end the protest.

A case has been registered against Jitu Patwari, Vishal Patel, Sanjay Shukla and city Congress chief Vijay Bakaliwal for protesting without permission.

They were charged under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for disobeying a government official’s lawfully proclaimed order, Inspector Amrita Solanki said.