Srinagar, Oct 16: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has written to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo, asking him to ensure that a JKAS officer allegedly subjected to verbal abuse by a senior IAS officer does not face any retribution, National Conference legislator Tanvir Sadiq said on Friday.
The development comes amid mounting criticism of IAS officer Kumar Rajiv Ranjan over his alleged use of abusive language against a woman JKAS officer during an official virtual meeting on October 14.
“The Honourable Chief Minister has taken serious note of the matter and written to the Chief Secretary to ensure that the JKAS officer faces no retribution. Accountability must prevail, and no one should be allowed to misuse their position to intimidate or victimise others,” Sadiq said.
He said that had Jammu and Kashmir been a full-fledged State, Ranjan would have been attached to the General Administration Department (GAD) pending a formal inquiry into his conduct.
“If J&K had been a full State, IAS officer Kumar Rajiv Ranjan, accused of using abusive language against an officer in an official meeting, would have been attached to the General Administration Department (GAD) pending a formal inquiry into his conduct,” Sadiq said.
Srinagar MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi also criticised the alleged conduct, questioning the exercise of authority by senior officers in the administration.
“That’s how a senior IAS officer in J&K dealt with a woman KAS officer. This is a grown man with a Secretary’s chair threatening a woman’s career because she asked to be allowed to finish a sentence,” Mehdi said.
He linked the incident to the changes in Jammu and Kashmir’s administrative status following the abrogation of Article 370.
“This is what abrogation of Art 370 has brought upon us. An assault on dignity at every level. Even the officers in administration behave like conquerors,” he said.
Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti also called for strict action against the IAS officer, saying such conduct should not be tolerated.
“Such erratic and disdainful conduct cannot be tolerated. CM @OmarAbdullah must immediately take up the matter with the Government of India and demand strict action against the officer who is already facing allegations of issuing illegal gun licences,” she said.
The controversy centres on an October 14 virtual meeting during which Ranjan allegedly used abusive language against Beenish Wani, a 2015-batch JKAS officer serving as Assistant Director, Employment, in Ganderbal.
The incident has triggered demands from political leaders and the JKAS Association for accountability and action against the senior bureaucrat. The association has called a one-day pen-down strike in protest, citing concerns over the dignity and self-respect of the administrative service fraternity.
