Official relieved of duties for misbehaving with soldiers

Maharashtra Protocol Minister Aaditya Thackeray has relieved an official at the Maharashtra

Sadan in New Delhi of his duties after video footage emerged of him misbehaving with Army jawans.

Taking serious cognisance of the incident, the minister has also asked the Border Security Force (BSF) that

the official, who was on deputation from the organisation, be suspended and an inquiry initiated against him over the

incident, an official release said. The incident took place when the regimental band of

the Gorkha regiment had come to Maharashtra Sadan as part of the birth anniversary celebrations of Chhatrapati Shivaji

Maharaj on Wednesday, the release said. The jawans were having lunch at the Sadans executive

dining hall, when Assistant Resident Commissioner (Protocol) Vijay Kayarkar, while asking them to sit in the public dining

hall, allegedly misbehaved with the jawans. Following this, the organisers of the programme and the jawans left, an

official said. A purported video of the incident went viral on social

media prompting Thackeray to relieve the official of his duties.

"The BSF has been asked to suspend Kayarkar and conduct a probe into the incident," the release said.