Kashmir Impulse Desk
Srinagar, Oct 16
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday said a senior IAS officer accused of verbally abusing a junior woman colleague would have been attached to the General Administration Department pending an inquiry if the region had full statehood.
Abdullah’s remarks followed the circulation of a video purportedly showing Kumar Rajeev Ranjan, administrative secretary of the Labour and Employment Department, berating Beenish Wani, a Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service officer, during an official review meeting on October 14.
The chief minister said the conduct visible in the video appeared inconsistent with the standards expected of a senior civil servant, and that subsequent alleged threats against the junior officer had compounded the matter.
“I have taken this up in the strongest possible terms with the Chief Secretary,” Abdullah said in a post on social media, adding that he had instructed the chief secretary to ensure Wani did not face retaliatory action.
He said the Lieutenant Governor’s administration exercised control over IAS officers in Jammu and Kashmir under the existing Union Territory arrangement.
“Had J&K been a state, the IAS officer seen abusing a young JKAS officer would have been attached to the General Administration Department pending an inquiry into his conduct,” Abdullah said in a subsequent post.
The comments came on the day Abdullah’s government completed two years in office and renewed the debate over the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
The region lost its statehood in August 2019, when the central government revoked its special constitutional status and reorganised it into two federally administered territories.
Under the present arrangement, the elected government does not exercise the same control over IAS officers as it would under a full state administration, Abdullah said.
The chief minister’s government has also revised the rules governing the transaction of government business, but the revised rules were awaiting approval from the central government, according to the original report.
The existing rules specify categories of matters that must be submitted to the chief minister through the chief secretary, including certain disciplinary cases involving All India Services and Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service officers.
The provisions also cover specified service-related matters concerning senior officials and other issues designated by the chief minister through general or special orders.
It was not immediately clear whether the proposed amendments to the business rules would alter the handling of the present case.
The video has triggered criticism from political parties and members of the administrative services, with calls for an impartial inquiry and protection for Wani against possible retaliation.
The government on Friday appointed Mandeep Kaur, commissioner secretary of the Housing and Urban Development Department, to investigate the allegations and submit a report within 15 days.
The National Commission for Women has separately sought an impartial inquiry and appropriate action if the allegations are established.
The allegations against Ranjan have not yet been adjudicated.
