Senior IAS officer, accused of rape in Andamans, suspended: MHA

A senior IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre, accused of raping a woman in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, was suspended by the government with immediate effect on Monday.

A statement issued by the Union home ministry said it had received a report on Sunday from the Andaman and Nicobar Police regarding the alleged sexual assault of a women by Jitendra Narain, when he was serving as chief secretary of the archipelago, and others.

With the report indicating the possibility of grave misconduct and misuse of official position on Narain's part of Narain, a 1990-batch IAS officer, Union Home Minister Amit Shah issued direction for immediate strict action against the officer concerned as per the law, read the statement.

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

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 statement added.

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.