The president of the Hisar Municipal Corporation Sanitation Workers’ Union has been arrested in connection with an alleged attack on civic employees and damage to a garbage collection vehicle during a door-to-door sanitation drive in the Sector 13 market, police said on Saturday.
Accused Surender alias Golu has been booked on the complaint of MC junior engineer Pawan Daroga. The complaint stated that drivers were allegedly assaulted, stones were thrown at garbage collection vehicles and the window panes of a vehicle were damaged during the attack. The tyres of a vehicle were also allegedly punctured. The arrest comes amid a prolonged standoff between sanitation workers and the state government over job regularisation.
Sections 221 (obstructing a public servant), 121(1) (voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from his duty), 132 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging his duty), 126(2) (wrongful restraint), 304 (snatching), 351(3) (criminal intimidation) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Section 3(1) of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, have been invoked.
The arrest was made at the MC office, triggering protests by sanitation workers, officials said. CCTV footage from near Malik Chowk, close to the residence of former Haryana urban local bodies minister Kamal Gupta, showed several people surrounding a garbage collection vehicle, with Surender allegedly threatening the driver, according to police.
