He denied any wrongdoing on his part.
Kallakurichi:
A controversy erupted in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday after a district collector allegedly asked his subordinate to carry his shoes, a charge which the officer vehemently denied.
Kallakurichi collector Shravan Kumar Jatavath’s video, which purportedly showed him asking the dafdar to take off his shoes before entering a temple, went viral, drawing criticism from many.
Speaking to PTI, Jatavath insisted that he never instructed his subordinate to carry his shoes.
Ahead of the world famous ‘Koovagam’ festival celebrated by transgenders from across the country and elsewhere, Mr Jatavath visited the Koovagam Kuthandavar temple to take stock of the arrangements made for the event. Kallakurichi is located about 240 km from Chennai.
While entering the temple, the officer took off his shoes and reportedly asked his assistant to take the shoes elsewhere. Controversy arose after the video went viral in this regard.
He denied any wrongdoing on his part.
“I never instructed Daffar to take my shoes. In fact the video has been edited and misinterpreted. Journalists who were present on the ground know that this (allegation) is not true. No The person who was not on the ground (was present) edited and misinterpreted the incident,” he claimed.
After the video went viral, many criticized the officer on social media platforms.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)