Puducherry: A senior bureaucrat in Puducherry has been suspended from service by Lt Governor Kiran Bedi on charges of posting obscene videos in WhatsApp group formed by Ms Bedi to interact with senior officials of the administration.
A.S. Sivakumar, senior Puducherry civil service officer and registrar of cooperative society, was suspended on Friday. The administrator of the group, Officer of Special Duty (OSD) Amrita Behl, on noticing the video, reported it to Bedi, who later made an official complaint to director general of police S.K. Gautam.
Ms Bedi on knowing the issue immediately issued the suspension order. Sivakumar was confined in the office of senior superintendent of law and order (SSP (L&O)) since Friday evening for inquiry and released by Saturday afternoon.
At the same time the ruling party in the state is furious on the Lt Governor for taking action against the officer bypassing the government and without the knowledge of the Chief Minister.
Congress MLAs led by K Lakshminarayanan gathered in front of office of SSP (L&O) seeking the explanation and release of the official. The officer mistakenly sent a link to the WhatsApp group and he immediately apologised for this, said Mr Lakshminarayanan.
"The Lt Governor on knowing the issue directly called the SSP and forced him to take immediate action against the official, which cannot be justified. He was confined in police custody for the whole night," Mr Lakshminarayanan told Deccan Chronicle.
"How could the governor take decision without the knowledge of the Chief Minister and without following the official procedures of issuing a suspension order to a government official," he said. The whole officialdom in the state is against the autocratic decision of the governor, said Mr Lakshminarayanan.
