Vegetable vendor harassed by senior govt officer’s wife?

An alleged altercation between the wife of a senior district officer and a vegetable vendor seems to have become the cause of loss of business for this vendor. The incident, it has been learnt, happened on Sunday and the vendor is still running from pillar to post to get his business back on rails.

Vegetable vendor Kamleshpal runs his business from Dandi Swami Road.

He said, "Madamji, mera pehle hee abhut nuksaan ho gya hai (Madamji, I have already run into huge losses)."

Some prodding and he goes on, " I really do not know what angered the lady who has been coming to us regularly to buy vegetables. She came last Sunday too and did not like the lady finger that our worker had packed for her. She scolded the boy who asked her to select the vegetable and the lady, who would have to crouch on her feet to chose the vegetable, got very agitated and angry."

Soon the tehbazzari wing of Ludhiana Municipal Corporation swooped down on the vendor and took away the items of just this vendor while all the other vegetable and fruit vendors adjoining him were doing business as usual.

"We have been making rounds of the offices but the superintendent says that he cannot do anything to help us Only Madam can help," added Kamleshpal, who claimed that he could recognise the woman.

"She is the wife of the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation Commissioner," he said.

When contacted, Ludhiana Municipal Corporation Commissioner M S Jaggi, whose wife is allegedly at the centre of the entire issue, flatly denied the matter.

"My family has nothing to do with the matter. I have talked to the superintendent and he has told me that the raids were routine official exercises that the department undertakes.

I have also checked with my family and nothing of his sort happened. This is a case of mistaken identity. I have even called this vegetable vendor and asked him why is he dragging the name of my family into the matter. He has told me that he has said nothing like this at all," she claimed.

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