Sanitation workers from the Pedana Municipality in Andhra Pradesh’s Krishna district launched a protest against Pedana Municipality Commissioner Anjaiah, alleging that he sexually harassed a worker and abused her with casteist slurs. The incident came to light on Monday, when the workers confronted the Commissioner at 5.30 am when he was on his morning walk. Part of the confrontation was caught on camera, where the workers are seen trying to pull the Commissioner by his hand while he tries to run away from them. In another video, the workers are seen reprimanding him for harassing their co-worker.
Speaking to the media, the woman who has accused the Commissioner of sexual harassment said that he would regularly make inappropriate comments while she was at work, cleaning the street in front of the secretariat. “I kept wondering why such an important person was talking in a strange manner lately. He told me that he’d heard I was free that day, that I had differences with my husband, and asked me If I’d go (to him),” the worker said.
Another municipality worker who was also part of the protest alleged that the Commissioner had abused the victim by calling her by her caste name. “He said to her, ‘Since you’re Madiga (a Scheduled Caste community), you can be used for anything. Will you come (to me)?’” the worker alleged.
While the workers have approached the police, no complaint has been registered yet. Pedana Sub-Inspector T Murali told TNM that both parties – the Commissioner and the sanitation workers – had approached the police with their complaints. “The inquiry is still going on. Once it’s concluded, we’ll register a complaint,” the SI said.
The Commissioner has claimed that the workers tried to attack him with sticks and chappals when he was on his morning walk. According to local news reports, he denied that he ever spoke to the woman who has accused him of harassment. He claimed that sanitation department officials who were unhappy with reforms enforced by him had provoked the workers to attack him.
Pedana tahsildar has been tasked with carrying out a preliminary inquiry into the incident and submit a report to the Krishna District Collector.