Bureaucrat accused of rape during Andaman posting suspended

Senior IAS officer Jitendra Narain, accused of raping a woman in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, was on Monday suspended by the government with immediate effect.

According to a Union home ministry statement, the government is committed to ensuring zero-tolerance towards the acts of indiscipline by its officials irrespective of their rank and status, especially with regard to incidents involving the dignity of women.

The ministry received a report on Sunday from the Andaman and Nicobar Police regarding the alleged sexual assault of a lady by Narain, when he was serving as chief secretary of the archipelago.

As the report indicated the possibility of grave misconduct and misuse of official position on the part of Narain, an IAS of the AGMUT cadre of the 1990 batch, Union Home Minister Amit Shah directed immediate strict action against the officer concerned as per the law.

Accordingly, Narain has been placed under suspension with immediate effect and disciplinary proceedings have been ordered against him, the statement said.

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An FIR has been registered and action in the criminal case is being taken separately by the Special Investigation Team of the Andaman and Nicobar Police.