In a mark of protest against the administrative "bias" over an attack on labourers last year, Magsaysay award winner and activist Sandeep Pandey today returned the Employment Awareness Award presented to him by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
Pandey said that he had returned the award to protest against attack on labourers by Ghanshyam, husband of a village head, in Era Kake village on January 14 last year.
He alleged that the incident occurred in presence of the police. Since then, "the administration had been working in a biased manner".
The award was given to Pandey for creating awareness about the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act for the year 2007-08 by Sonia Gandhi.
"I have returned the award, which included a citation and a cash reward of Rs 44,000 to the Union Rural Development Ministry," he said.