Chandigarh, Apr 27 — A 31-year-old security guard was arrested and terminated from his position on Saturday after he defaced a promotional poster featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Civil Hospital, Sector 45.
The accused, Gurpreet Singh, a resident of Rajpura, Patiala, was employed at the hospital through a private security agency. He allegedly marked the Prime Minister’s forehead with a black dot and used a sketch pen to mark both ears. The act was witnessed by bystanders.
The incident came to light on April 11 when local BJP leaders, including Prince Bhandula, President of the BJP Medical Cell, Chandigarh, noticed the defaced poster. The poster had been put up as part of the Ayushman Bharat health scheme’s promotion for the 7th “Jan Aushadhi Diwas” event in March. BJP district president Ravinder Malik alerted the police.
A complaint was filed by Senior Medical Officer Dr. Navneet Kanwar, and an FIR was registered under Section 352 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 3 of the Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Property Act, 2007.
During questioning, Singh claimed he was provoked by acquaintances to “do something different” as a prank, though police are verifying his statement. He also named an individual who allegedly instigated him, but that person was found to be absent.
Singh was arrested on Saturday, granted bail, and subsequently dismissed from his duties to uphold hospital discipline.
