• Source:JND
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A liquor salesman in Greater Noida was allegedly slapped and hit with a belt by an excise inspector over allegations of overcharging customers. The district excise officer has launched a departmental inquiry into the incident. His family held a protest outside the District Magistrate’s office on Saturday after police refused to register a complaint

Manish Kumar (29) from Dadri, a salesperson at a model shop in Jagat Farm, alleged that he suffered severe injuries to his limbs and chest after being brutally assaulted by excise inspector Chandra Shekhar.

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The victim claimed that Shekhar and a constable arrived at the model shop around 8:30 p.m. on Friday and accused him of overcharging customers.

"When I told the officer that I did not overcharge, the inspector slapped me multiple times. He removed the CCTV camera's DVR and then put me into his vehicle and took me to the excise office in Greater Noida's Sector Delta 3. Once in the office, he assaulted me with a belt and left me there in a severely bruised state," Manish claimed.

The salesman claimed he was kept at the excise office for hours before his brother, Rohit, who also works at the model shop, learned about the assault later that night and came to pick him up around midnight.

The family later attempted to file a formal complaint through the emergency helpline Dial 112 and at several police stations, but their efforts were unsuccessful. On Saturday, they gathered in protest outside the District Magistrate’s office in Greater Noida.

The district excise officer, Subodh Kumar, told TOI that their team received a complaint on Friday accusing the salesman of charging customers Rs 10 above the MRP for beer bottles. "Excise inspector Chandra Shekhar and a constable were sent to the shop for an inspection. In his initial statement, the inspector said that when he reached the shop, the salesperson was drunk and misbehaved with them. The two officials took the salesperson to their car to impose a challan, but the latter fled from the spot," the DEO said, adding that it was possible that Manish may have hurt himself later.

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"A departmental inquiry has been initiated. Appropriate action will be taken based on the findings of the inquiry," the DEO said.