Hyderabad: A tehsildar working in Siddipet’s Gajwel was suspended on Sunday, October 11, after a video of him insulting a farmer went viral on social media.
PH Swamy was put on suspension as per the orders of the Siddipet District Collector, K Haimavathi, following a preliminary report by the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO).
He has also been asked not to leave his headquarters without prior permission.
Tehsildar mocks farmer in Siddipet
The suspension comes a day after a video of Swamy went viral, in which he is seen asking Yesu, a farmer, “Haven’t you drunk pesticide yet?” When the latter spoke about his ordeal. Swamy also asked Yesu whether he was still alive.
In the video, the farmer is seen asking the MRO if he finds his plight funny, to which the officer replies, “Yes, absolutely.”
BRS working president KT Rama Rao reacted to the video, calling it “shameful and absolutely unacceptable”.
“Is this how we treat the very farmers who feed us? You have to be mentally sick to treat another fellow human the way this officer did. Shameful and absolutely unacceptable. I demand that @TelanganaCS take action against this MRO,” he stated in a post on X.
Following the incident, the MRO spoke to Times of India and gave his version of the events.
Swamy said that the farmer, Yesu, from Maktha Masanpally village, has been demanding compensation for agricultural land being acquired for the Regional Ring Road (RRR) project.
The MRO said that the land could not be acquired, as it was involved in a family dispute. Swamy said he had repeatedly explained to the farmer that the compensation could only be released after the family resolved the dispute.
