IAS officer ‘abuses’ woman official; JKAS fraternity seeks probe

The heated argument, which came to light through a purported video, took place between Ranjan and assistant director Beenish Wani over the role of National Rural Livelihood Mission during a review meeting on Mission YUVA

A senior IAS officer in Jammu and Kashmir, Kumar Rajeev Ranjan, has courted controversy after he allegedly used abusive language against a woman Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Services (JKAS) officer and threatened to recommend her dismissal from service while chairing a virtually meeting in Srinagar on Thursday.

PDP leader Iltija Mufti demanded action against the IAS officer for using abusive language. (HT Photo for representation)

The heated argument, which came to light through a purported video, took place between Ranjan and assistant director Beenish Wani over the role of National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) during a review meeting on Mission YUVA.

Ranjan, a 2010-batch IAS officer posted as administrative secretary labour and employment in J&K government, repeatedly interrupted Wani, assistant director, employment and counselling centre Ganderbal, when she was briefing the meeting about the targets achieved by her office.

The IAS officer termed her “bloody shit” during the meeting. The IAS officer even threatened to issue a suspension order against Wani when she tried to explain her position.

In a statement, the JKAS fraternity said that while it unequivocally upholds administrative accountability and performance monitoring, it maintains that no supervisory authority can justify abusive language, intimidation or such misconduct that undermines the dignity of a serving officer.

The fraternity said this is not an isolated incident, as the IAS officer is alleged to have a pattern of using “unparliamentary and demeaning language” in an official capacity. The fraternity demanded an impartial inquiry into the incident.

PDP leader Iltija Mufti demanded action against the IAS officer for using abusive language. IAS officers posted in J&K are directly under the control of the lieutenant governor and the chief minister has little jurisdiction over them.