Shahjahanpur: A video of newly appointed Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Rinku Singh Rahi holding his ears in front of protesting lawyers has gone viral on social media, sparking discussions around the incident that took place in Puwayan tehsil of Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
The incident occurred on Tuesday, the day Rahi took charge as SDM. According to reports, Rahi saw a man urinating in the open within the tehsil premises and directed him to do sit-ups as punishment. The man was reportedly a scribe working for a lawyer.
The act triggered outrage among local lawyers, who termed it disrespectful and staged a protest inside the tehsil complex. As the situation escalated, Rahi addressed the agitating lawyers from the stage and said, “I am the highest officer of this tehsil, and if my words have hurt anyone, then I apologize to all of you.”
Rahi, a 2022-batch IAS officer from the Divyang quota and a resident of Hathras, later clarified to the media, “I had joined today and was inspecting the tehsil premises. Some people were toileting in the open. When I interrupted them, they said the toilet was dirty and they couldn’t go there. I made them sit up to convince them not to do this again.”
The incident has sparked debate online, with opinions divided over the officer’s actions and the lawyers’ response.
