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Bihar IAS officers show caused for protest
The officers had formed a human chain outside Raj Bhawan and submitted a memorandum to the Governor, in protest again the arrest of fellow officer Sudhir Kumar in an alleged corruption case
Acting tough on IAS officers who had protested in public against the arrest of a fellow officer in a corruption case, the Bihar government, on Thursday, sought explanations from all field officers (mainly district magistrates posted outside state capital), who joined the Raj Bhawan march on February 27.
On the call of the IAS Officers’ Association (IASOA), scores of IAS officers had formed a human chain outside the Patna Raj Bhawan to register their protest against the arrest of Bihar Staff Selection Commission (BSSC) chairman Sudhir Kumar, in connection with leaking of questions of an examination conducted by the BSSC.
Nearly 28 district magistrates had participated in the human chain.
The government also sent a letter to IASOA, asking it to clarify the issues it has raised in its memorandum to the state government.
“The field officers have been asked to explain whether they had informed the competent authority (in this case divisional commissioners) before leaving the district headquarters,” said chief secretary Anjani Kumar Singh.
The government’s action came after association leaders declared they had decided not to accept any verbal instructions, even from the chief minister.
The IASOA, in its memorandum to the governor, had demanded adequate safeguards for officers to work fairly and fearlessly. The association also demanded that a civil officer, not below one who had attained super time scale, head any probe involving an officer in the rank of sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) or above.
The association had also announced that no IAS officer would accept the posts of chairman and controller of the Bihar Staff Selection Commission (BSSC) or the technical services recruitment board, till Kumar got justice.
The association had also submitted similar memoranda to the chief minister, speaker of Bihar assembly and the chief secretary.
