12 Haryana officials chargesheeted for approving contentious name for award
Two weeks ago, Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini ordered an inquiry against the officials responsible for the oversight.
The Haryana government has initiated action against 12 officials for recommending a woman, accused of filing at least three false rape cases, for the state’s Indira Gandhi Mahila Shakti award, officials said on Saturday.
The 12 officials –– eight from Jind department and four from the women and child development department –– have been named in a charge sheet and the government has issued show cause notices to them, the officials cited above said. The action came two weeks after chief minister Nayab Singh Saini ordered an inquiry against the errant officials.
“The government is also exploring options to take back the award from the woman. Action has been initiated against the officials but their cannot be revealed. This was a blunder on the part of the administration. The officials have brought a bad reputation to the government,” the CM’s media coordinator Ashok Chhabra.
Rekha Rani Dhiman, a local women’s rights activist, received the Indira Gandhi Mahila Shakti Award on International Women’s Day and a cash prize of ₹1.50 lakh from Saini. Officials said that Dhiman was recognised for rescuing and rehabilitating victims of prostitution through her non-profit organisation.
Dhiman’s name was recommended by an eight-member committee, comprising Jind additional deputy commissioner Vivek Arya, district programme officer Kanta Yadav, district education officer Sumitra Devi, elementary education officer Subhash Verma, social welfare officer Saroj Verma, district prohibition cum protection officer XX, district child protection officer Sujata Malhan and secretary red cross society Ravi Hooda.
Police records, however, showed that the 33-year-old woman spent 33 days in jail in 2020 for filing a false rape case against 12 people, accusing them of drugging her, raping her and then blackmailing her for two years.
She had filed similar complaints in Rohtak in 2012 and in Hisar in 2015, both of which were later proven to be false, according to police records.
Despite repeated attempts, Haryana women and child development minister Shruti Choudhry and Jind deputy commissioner Mohammad Imran Raza could not be reached for a reaction on Saturday’s development.
Dhiman also could not be reached for a comment.