Varanasi: A special court (SC/ST Act) has summoned SDM Shambhu Sharan on Nov 3 after accepting a complaint alleging that he assaulted a devotee, used casteist slurs and behaved disorderly inside the Kashi Vishwanath Temple complex.The court passed the order on Sept 8, but it came to light on Sunday. In his complaint, Babulal Sonkar said he was at the temple premises with his acquaintance Anuj Pandey around 12.30 am on Feb 16 when the SDM, allegedly accompanied by private bouncers, was pushing devotees.Sonkar alleged that the bouncers caught him at the officer’s signal, abused him, tried to strangle him and publicly humiliated him with caste-based remarks. Pandey, who intervened, was also allegedly assaulted and later treated at Kabirchaura Divisional Hospital.Sonkar also alleged that despite moving complaints before the police, no action was taken, following which he approached the court with medical records, his caste certificate and footage.The court found the complainant’s allegations, witness statements and electronic evidence, including CCTV footage, prima facie credible and ordered that the application be registered as a complaint case. It summoned the SDM to appear before it on Nov 3.
