Srinagar, Oct 16 The Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday ordered an in-depth inquiry into alleged misconduct by senior IAS officer Kumar Rajeev Ranjan with a woman Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service officer earlier this week.
The National Commission for Women (NCW) also took suo motu cognisance of the incident.
A government order issued by the General Administration Department (GAD) said Mandeep Kaur, a 2004-batch IAS officer and Commissioner-Secretary to the Housing and Urban Development Department, has been appointed as the inquiry officer.
Additional Secretary, GAD, Amit Vermani, has been appointed as the presenting officer and the inquiry committee has been given 15 days to submit its report, the order said.
Ranjan, Administrative Secretary of the Labour and Employment Department, courted controversy after he allegedly used abusive language against Beenish Wani, Assistant Director (Employment) in Ganderbal, during a meeting on the role of the National Rural Livelihood Mission.
Wani, a 2015-batch JKAS officer, was on leave from October 13, but Ranjan had asked her to join the meeting through videoconferencing.
Videos of the heated exchange circulated widely on social media, drawing strong condemnation from the Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service (JKAS) fraternity.
The NCW said in a post on X that it has taken suo motu cognisance of the viral video, which allegedly shows Ranjan “verbally abusing, humiliating, and threatening” the junior officer.
NCW Chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar has written to the Jammu and Kashmir chief secretary, requesting video verification, an impartial inquiry and appropriate disciplinary and legal action if the allegations are substantiated, it said.
The commission has also demanded strict safeguards against workplace harassment, victimisation and professional retaliation, alongside protection and support for the officer.
The NCW has sought an action-taken report within seven days, emphasising that every woman officer is entitled to a safe, respectful and dignified workplace.
Ranjan is not new to controversy.
In 2020, he was arrested by the CBI for his alleged involvement in a case linked to the issuance of a large number of arms licenses during his tenure as Kupwara deputy commissioner based on forged documents. He was suspended by the Jammu and Kashmir administration and later reinstated in 2021.
(PTI News)
