Amethi DM shifted after video shows him dragging officer

Additional Chief Secretary (Department of Appointment & Personnel) Mukul Singhal said Sharma was transferred on administrative grounds.

An order issued by the state government on Thursday stated that Sharma has been put on a waitlist, and vice-chairman of Moradabad Development Authority Arun Kumar has been posted as the new DM of Amethi.

After the video emerged, Union minister and BJP MP from Amethi, Smriti Irani, had tweeted: “We should always try to be sensitive and polite. We are servants of the people, not rulers.”

But as the video led to people expressing anguish over the administration’s “insensitivity”, the DM’s Twitter handle tweeted a video of Sunil Singh denying allegations against the district magistrate and said that Sharma had done nothing wrong.

The tweet stated, “Videos can be edited to look like something that is not true and spread to create mischief. Here is a statement from the officer, Mr Sunil Singh himself, clarifying the situation.”

In the video, Sunil Singh is heard saying, “Dear mediapersons, I saw a news on TV channels today where it was being shown that DM Amethi had misbehaved with me. Nothing like this happened. The video being broadcast is an edited video. The DM heard all our problems and assured us of all the help possible…”

After Sharma’s transfer, Singh told The Indian Express that the DM got angry after he questioned him how a murder could take place within five metres from a police vehicle.