Help me get my 44-day wage: A gardener, among special invitees at R-Day parade, to PM Modi
New Delhi (PTI): A gardener by profession, Sukh Nandan, was among the special invitees to watch this year's Republic Day parade at the revamped Kartavya Path.
Several workers and labourers, engaged in the construction work of the Central Vista project and maintenance activities around the India Gate and along the Kartavya Path, were offered special passes to attend the parade.
They were allocated enclosure number 17 which was right opposite the saluting dais (on the other side of the Kartavya Path) where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu among other dignitaries were seated.
Nandan, who hails from the Niwari district of Madhya Pradesh, was delighted to share his experience of seeing the PM from such a close distance. He said he was thrilled when the PM went close to the enclosure and waved at them.
"I felt fortunate to be a part of the function. I had never thought that I would be chosen to be among the special guests," the 44-year-old said.
However, when asked what would he have asked the prime minister if given chance, he said, "My last contractor refused to pay wages for 44-day work. I will request PM Modi ji to help me get my wages."
Nandan has been working in the horticulture department at the India Gate for the past two months. Earlier, he was employed at Andhra Bhawan under a contractor.
"He refused to pay my salary for 44 days of work. I have a copy of the attendance register which proves that I was present on those 44 days," Nandan, who lives in the makeshift tents near India Gate with his wife and two children, said.
"Despite that, the contractor is not ready to release my salary which I deserve. Now, I have also refused to return his brush cutter which I had kept. I have told him that unless he pays my dues, I will not return the brush cutter," he added.
The local bodies outsource various labour-intensive work to private contractors who hire labourers with a promise to pay at the rate fixed by the government.
Many a time these workers are subjected to exploitation and are denied pay by the contractors on one pretext or the other. They can't take recourse under the legal system as they neither have the money nor the time and awareness to do that.
According to Nandan, the monthly wage for gardeners fixed by the local municipal bodies is Rs 14,586. "At this rate, my total dues stand at approximately Rs 21,000," he said, adding that the contractor had offered to pay Rs 6,000 only.
"Now he often threatens me of FIR for taking his brush cutter. I will really be grateful if I get any help from the government," Nandan said, heaping praise on his present contractor for timely payment.
When contacted, Nandan's former contractor Jiten Upadhyay admitted not paying the wages, saying that there is a dispute on the pending amount.
"I don't think his dues are Rs 21,000. Also, besides the brush cutter, he has kept other plumbing equipment too which he has to return first," he alleged.
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Delhi court sentences CBI joint director to 3 months' imprisonment in IRS officer assault case
New Delhi (PTI): A Delhi court has sentenced two CBI officers to three months' imprisonment for assaulting and trespassing into the residence of an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer during a raid over two decades ago.
Judicial Magistrate Shashank Nandan Bhatt was hearing the arguments on the sentence against the convicted retired police officer V K Pandey and Ramneesh, who was serving as a superintendent of police when the raid was conducted in 2000.
Ramneesh is at present a joint director at the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The court also fined Rs 50,000 each to both the accused.
Both were accused under IPC sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 427 (mischief) and 448 (criminal trespass) in a complaint filed by IRS officer Ashok Kumar Aggarwal.
The case pertained to an incident on October 19, 2000, when a CBI team carried out a search and arrest operation at Aggarwal's residence in Paschim Vihar.
Aggarwal alleged that the officials forcibly entered his house in the early hours, assaulted him and violated legal procedures during the arrest.
#WATCH | Delhi | Former IRS officer assault case. | Tis Hazari Court sentenced CBI joint director Ramneesh and Retired ACP Vivek Pandey to 3 months sentence in an assault case filed by former IRS officer Ashok Agarwal. The court has granted them bail to challenge the judgment.… https://t.co/RwAxjMrWDK pic.twitter.com/2FlkG4rDs0
— ANI (@ANI) April 28, 2026
