A midnight attempt to clear heaps of accumulated garbage near the civil hospital in Bahadurgarh of Jhajjar district turned violent after a confrontation between striking sanitation workers and a police-backed administrative team, prompting registration of an FIR against around 40 protesting employees.
Several employees were detained and later released. When officials attempted to start the clearance operation, the protesters allegedly blocked the team and later hurled garbage, glass bottles, stones and coconuts at officials and police personnel. Workers, however, gave a contrasting account, alleging that police baton-charged protesters and forcibly took men and women into buses. Union unit president Rajesh Balguher claimed that at least five women and three men were injured, while some reports put the number of injured workers at nine. With garbage continuing to pile up across Bahadurgarh and other towns, authorities have resorted to night-time clearance drives under police protection.
The incident occurred around 2 am on Tuesday night when Team-3 of a special cleanliness drive, accompanied by police and led by a duty magistrate, reached the site to remove garbage that had accumulated during the ongoing strike of sanitation workers. Around 35–40 sanitation workers were already present at the site and were raising slogans against the state government and administration, according to the complaint filed by naib tehsildar Praveen Kumar. The FIR was registered at Sector-6 police station under Sections 121(1), 132, 190, 191(2), 221, 270 and 351(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the named accused include municipal workers’ union president Rajesh, along with Sunil, Sandeep, Rajpal, Amit, Saroj, Kuldeep, Subhash, Dalbir, Dharmbir, Satyawan, Vajir, Meena, Sushma, Pramila, Rakesh, Ashok, Lilaram and Rajendra. Police were examining video footage and other evidence before taking further action, according to Sector 6 police station incharge Satyaveer Singh. The strike has now been extended until September 6, with unions threatening to gherao the urban local bodies (ULB) minister’s office.
