JAMMU :Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday broke his silence over the controversy involving a senior IAS officer allegedly abusing a woman JKAS officer during an official online meeting, saying his conduct was not in keeping with the standards expected of a senior officer.
In a post on X, Omar said he has taken up the matter in the strongest possible terms with the Chief Secretary.
"I’ve seen the video of the online government meeting that is circulating on social media. Prima facie the conduct of the senior officer was not in keeping with the standards expected of a senior IAS officer & the subsequent threats issued to a junior JKAS officer only make matters worse. I’ve taken this up in the strongest possible terms with the Chief Secretary," Omar posted.
He added that control over IAS officers in a UT rests with the Raj Bhavan, but as Chief Minister he has instructed the Chief Secretary to ensure no retributive action is taken against the junior officer.
"Unfortunately as a UT control over IAS officers rests with Lok Bhavan but as CM I’ve instructed the CS to ensure the JKAS officer faces no retributive action," he said.
The remarks come after a purported video of a review meeting of Mission YUVA went viral on social media, showing Administrative Secretary Labour & Employment Department, Kumar Rajeev Ranjan, a 2010-batch IAS officer, allegedly shouting at and abusing Assistant Director Employment Ganderbal, Beenish Wani, a 2015-batch JKAS officer.
In the video, Ranjan is seen asking the woman officer to "shut up", using abusive language and directing his subordinates to frame her suspension order while she was briefing about district targets via video conferencing.
The incident has triggered sharp reactions from political parties, civil society and officers' associations, with many demanding strict action and attachment of the officer pending inquiry.
Earlier, National Conference Chief Spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq had said that had J&K been a full state, Kumar Rajeev Ranjan would have been attached to GAD pending a formal inquiry, and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had also written to the Chief Secretary to ensure the JKAS officer faces no retribution.
The administration is yet to issue any official statement on any action against the IAS officer.