Madhya Pradesh: Centre sacks Dalit IAS officer who was suspended for graft

In 2016, the Madhya Pradesh government had sent a recommendation to the Central government for terminating her services .

The central government on Tuesday terminated the services of suspended Dalit IAS officer Shashi Karnawat in Madhya Pradesh on the recommendation of the state government.

File photograph of IAS officer Shashi Karnawat who was sacked on Tuesday. She had alleged that she was implicated is a false case of graft. (HT PHOTO)

The state government issued a statement Tuesday evening announcing the termination of Karnawat’s services under the provisions of the All India Service (Discipline and Appeals) Rules, 1969

Prior to her suspension, Karnawat was deputy secretary in youth and sports welfare department. A satte civil service officer, she had been promoted to IAS in 1999. In 2013, she was sentenced to five years in jail by Mandla district court in a corruption case (zila panchayat printing scam of 1999-2000). After a brief stint in jail, the Madhya Pradesh high court gave her bail in October that year. She had been under suspension since then.

Karnawat was pressing for her reinstatement and higher wages during the suspension period.

Speaking to HT, Karnawat said she was shocked by the decision as her appeal was still pending before the court and chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had assured her that she would reinstated.

Over the years Karnawat has been regularly lashing out at the state government. In December last year, she wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding a probe on the alleged atrocities on Dalits in the state during the tenure of chief minister Chouhan. In her two page letter, Karnawat had leveled serious allegations against CM and bureaucrats. She alleged that Chouhan was anti-Dalit and that she had been implicated in a false case.

Responding to her attacks, Madhya Pradesh general administration department (GAD) minister Lal Singh Arya said at a press conference in December last year that she was crossing the line of the discipline and violating norms meant for the conduct of a senior government officer. Arya said the state government had already sent a proposal for the termination of her services to the Central government and response on the same was awaited.

In 2016, Karnawat also announced her plan to end her life by taking ‘jal samadhi’ (drowning) in Narmada River in Khandwa district, pressing for her demand for reinstatement her and higher wages during the suspension period. She, however, dropped her plan later. In July 2016, she wrote a letter to the chief minister seeking permission for euthanasia, saying, “she had been left with no other option”.