Senior IAS Officer Faces Sexual Harassment Charges; Women Staff Write to CM
Lucknow (The Uttam Hindu): A senior IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh has been accused of inhumane behaviour, exploitation and sexual harassment of female employees of his own department. The female employees have sent a complaint letter directly to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath against this officer posted as Additional Commissioner in the State Tax Department of Noida, after which there has been a stir at the government level. Considering the seriousness of the matter, orders have been given for immediate investigation against the accused officer.
In the complaint letter sent to the Chief Minister, the women officers have made several serious allegations. They have written that the senior officers treat them like slaves, use foul language and threaten to get them fired if they do not obey. According to the letter, the officers have been adopting this attitude for the last four months and say, "If you do not obey me, I will take away your job and get you fired by giving you a bowl in your hand."
In their complaint, the women employees have also made very serious allegations that fall under the category of sexual harassment. They have said that the IAS officer calls the women officers to his room and makes them stand for hours, stares at them with dirty eyes and makes phone and video calls late at night. Not only this, it has also been alleged in the letter that the officers also secretly make videos of the women officers. According to the complaint, if any woman employee opposes this attitude of theirs, she is threatened to be implicated in fake cases and suspended.
In a letter to the Chief Minister, the women officers have mentioned the government's 'Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao' campaign and have written that on one hand the government is promoting women empowerment, while on the other hand a senior IAS officer is playing with the identity of women. They have said that they are writing this letter with a very sad heart and have demanded a confidential investigation in the matter by an independent investigation agency or the State Women's Commission.
This complaint was lodged by the women employees on August 5, after which the government took immediate action and ordered an investigation. This case has come to light at a time when the matter of suspension of seven officers in the state tax department was in the news recently, which was allegedly related to allegations of harassment of women. This new complaint letter has once again created a stir in the department.