Bengaluru resident allegedly assaulted by RWA members over sewage disposal row

Tushar Chandra, a resident of Celebrity Lakeview Layout in Hennagara lake in the greater Bengaluru region, was allegedly assaulted by four resident welfare association (RWA) members from the nearby DLF Maiden Heights after he complained to the gram panchayat that the apartment was releasing sewage outside its boundary walls. 

Tushar alleged that four people from the RWA, including its president Anjaneya Priyadarshi, called him to the place where the sewage was released on the pretext of getting it cleared. When Tushar reached the place, Anjaneya allegedly assaulted and beat him up. “Anjaneya Priyadarshi beat me up and the remaining three threatened me to stay quiet and mind my own business,” Tushar said. He further alleged that Anjaneya threatened him saying, “Come out and we'll show you what we can do. Call the police, call the panchayat, you don't know how powerful we are."

According to Tushar, the issue started in December 2020 after the sewage treatment plant (STP) at the DLF Maiden Heights apartment stopped functioning and the “RWA didn’t bother to get it fixed.” Since then, according to Tushar, the apartment has been releasing the sewage outside its compound walls into an unused space that borders Celebrity Lakeview Layout.

On June 16, Tushar and four other residents of the layout complained to the Hennagara gram panchayat against the DLF apartment. The complaint read, “The DLF apartment has been releasing its sewage into Celebrity Layout’s gutters. Despite warning them 3-4 times, they have not acted. Hence, we request you to take action against them and instruct them to rectify the damage.”

Tushar alleged that the gram panchayat also didn’t respond to the issue, all the while saying that they will take action. Speaking on the alleged dumping of sewage, Hennagara gram panchayat member Shivraj told TNM, “Their STP was not functioning properly and so they had let the water overflow in their garden. A little bit had somehow leaked out.”

The assault, according to Tushar, took place on June 27. Following the assault, he filed a complaint against Anjaneya and the three other RWA members at the Jigani police station. Anjaneya, also, had filed a complaint in which he alleged that Tushar was defaming him.

Speaking to TNM, Jigani Police Inspector BK Shekhar, said, “Both the parties have filed a complaint against each other. Tushar has complained that the four had manhandled him and Anjaneya has complained that Tushar was defaming him on social media.”