In a shocking event, an Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer from Jharkhand has been suspended by the state government after he was accused of sexually harassing a trainee from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), as per PTI reports.
Jharkhand government on Friday suspended IAS officer Syed Riaz Ahmed after he was arrested on the basis of a complaint filed by a trainee IITian, where she alleged that she was sexually harassed by the government official during a party.
Ahmed, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Khunti, was arrested on Tuesday and sent to judicial custody for two weeks after the engineering student filed a police complaint against him, as per PTI reports.
“Chief Minister Hemant Soren has given direction to suspend Syed Riaz Ahmed, posted as SDM Khunti. The SDM was charged with sexual harassment case,” a statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office said.
Ahmed is facing charges under IPC sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354A (sexual harassment), and 509 (word, gesture, or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), police said.
After the complaint was filed by the IIT trainee, IAS officer Syed Riaz Ahmed was taken into police custody. A court on July 5 remanded the officer to judicial custody for 14 days.
As per the complaint filed with the officials, eight engineering students of an IIT, including the victim, had come to Khunti from outside the state for training. They attended a dinner hosted at the Deputy Development Commissioner’s residence on Saturday.
When the SDM found her alone at the party, he allegedly sexually harassed her there, the victim told the police in a statement. The police, prima facie, found the allegation to be true after Ahmed and some guests who attended the party were questioned.
(With PTI inputs)
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