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Official who tried to help colleague over reporting domestic abuse under probe
The official had shot off a letter to Gurgaon police on behalf of a colleague, in a domestic abuse case. But he had identified himself as “a representative in a senior minister’s office”.
What could have been a Good Samaritan act has landed an Indian Information Services (IIS) official in trouble, because he misrepresented himself as an employee attached to the office of a cabinet minister.
The official had shot off a letter to a senior police officer in Haryana’s Gurgaon on behalf of a colleague, whose complaints against domestic abuse were allegedly not being heeded to.
According to sources, the official had complained that the police personnel had been slow in following up his colleague’s complaints, and tried to use his clout to evoke action.
In that letter, he identified himself as “a representative in a senior minister’s office”, which, upon inquiry by the Haryana police, turned out to be incorrect.
The official, whose identity is under wraps, is now being investigated by the information and broadcasting ministry, under which the IIS falls.
“The ministry has initiated disciplinary proceedings against a senior IIS Group A officer for impersonation. He falsely used the wrong identity to be part of a central minister’s staff while he was not even posted in that ministry,” a source told HT.
The I&B ministry has also decided to take disciplinary action against officials for lapses in identifying and punishing two employees who had been on leave without sanction for nearly two decades.
The ministry has dismissed two officials from AIR, Anil Kumar Jain and Rakesh Mohan, both assistant directors in the engineering department for unauthorised absence from duty.
“The dismissal of the two officials from service will disqualify them for future employment under the government,” an official said.
Rakesh Mohan has been absent from duty since June 1998, while Anil Kumar Jain has not reported to work since June 1996. “The decision has been taken following procedures and DoPT guidelines in consultation with the recruiting authority, UPSC,” the official said.
The disciplinary action has been taken in keeping with the Modi-government’s policy of cracking the whip on errant officials, I&B Ministry official said.
In January this year, two IAS officials were suspended after a departmental review found them unfit for the job.
