In a first major administrative action after returning to the office for a second term, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday ordered the suspension of Sonbhadra District Magistrate TK Shibu and Ghaziabad Superintendent of Police Pawan Kumar for alleged corruption, dereliction of duty and failure to control crime.
A 2012-batch IAS officer, Shibu was suspended following the allegations of corruption in the mining in his district levelled by public representatives, while Kumar, a 2009-batch IPS officer, was suspended on the charges of dereliction of duty and failure to control crime.
Confirming the suspensions, Additional Chief Secretary (Information) Navneet Sehgal said, “On the direction of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the Sonbhadra District Magistrate and Ghaziabad SSP have been suspended.”
Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Kumar Awasthi also said that Ghaziabad SSP Pawan Kumar was suspended for “dereliction of duty and failure to control crime”, while a government spokesperson said Sonebhadra DM TK Shibu has been suspended for “anomalies in his work and negligence in resolving issues related to the public”.
Government sources said the action is a message to the bureaucracy about the government’s pledge of “zero tolerance against corruption” and “zero tolerance against the failure to control crime”. Besides, Shibu’s suspension is also a message to the bureaucracy to be accountable to the public representatives at the district level, they said.
The CM also ordered an inquiry into the charges level against Shibu, who has been attached to the Revenue Board, to be conducted by the Varanasi Commissioner.
Notably, Sonbhadra went to the polls in the last phase of the seven-phase Assembly elections. However, during the elections, the district saw several protests by Samajwadi Party leaders, who had also caught a vehicle carrying ballot papers and alleged anomalies in the election process. The Sub Divisional Magistrate was suspended for dereliction of duty on Election Commission’s order.