India Against Corruption member Dhiraj Singh, who was allegedly assaulted at Khajpura in Patna on Friday. Picture by Ashok Sinha

A member of a non-government organisation, India Against Corruption (IAC), was assaulted on Friday morning at the Khajpura area in Patna.

Dhiraj Kumar Singh (29) was campaigning for election of candidates with clean record in the coming civic polls.

“I was attacked around 9am on Bailey Road near Keshav Palace,” said Singh. He was engaged in a door-to-door campaign on his bicycle when two men stopped him.

Singh said: “First, they abused me and then deflated my bicycle tyres. When I told them that I am conducting this campaign as a social service, they replied that the voters and the candidates know each other very well. They started pushing me, tore my IAC badge, and took off the placard from my bicycle and threw it on the street. Finally, they threatened me not to intervene in the civic elections and told me to stop such campaigning.”

The activist immediately went to Shashtri Nagar police station to lodge a complaint but more tribulations awaited him there. “When I told a sub-inspector at the police station about the incident, he asked me to get the tyre repaired and go home. When I insisted on lodging the complaint, the officer abused me and showed me the door. Later, a few other workers of IAC arrived at the police station and the complaint was lodged against two persons. I requested the police to ensure that my team members and I are protected from such people,” he said.

The officer in-charge at the police station denied the allegations. “There was no argument. A sub-inspector spoke to Dhiraj. An informatory was lodged. We will give the corresponding informatory number tomorrow. Necessary action will be taken.”

Singh, a civil service aspirant and resident of Kankerbagh, started his bicycle campaign from May 7. He aims to campaign in all the 72 wards of Patna Municipal Corporation.