'Gross misuse of power': practice session of athletes truncated so IAS officer can walk dog: report

In Delhi's Thyagraj Stadium, constructed for the Commonwealth games and run by the state government, training was reportedly forced to wrap up by 7 pm. According to the athletes and coaches, they would wrap up by 8-8:30 earlier, as it was more suitable to the hot weather of the national capital.

An expose in the Indian Express alleged that Delhi's Principal Secretary (Revenue) Sanjeev Khirwar walks his dog daily and the ground was cleared for security purposes.

The report says they visited the stadium to follow up on the allegation to find that security guards would clear out the stadium by 7 pm.

Also Watch: IAS officer who walked dog at Delhi stadium shunted to Ladakh, his wife to Arunachal Pradesh

Indian Express quoted Khirwar, a 1994-batch IAS officer, as having said that the allegation was 'absolutely incorrect' and that he 'sometimes' takes his pet for a walk, but Khirwar denied disrupting the practice sessions.

Coaches and athletes said that they have to train earlier in the heat as practice has to end early. Several said that they shifted training to Jahawarlal Nehru Stadium, not too far from the Thyagraj stadium.

On the condition of anonymity, some parents of the athletes, told the media outlet that they found the situation to be unacceptable, saying that using a state owned stadium to walk one's pet was a 'gross misuse of power'.