Chandigarh: A 2014 batch woman IAS officer of the Haryana cadre has resigned from the prestigious service, citing apprehensions of “personal safety on government duty”. The officer, Rani Nagar, who hails from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, tendered her resignation to the Haryana chief secretary Monday.
In her resignation letter summary to Chief Secretary Keshni Anand Arora, Nagar stated: “I do hereby most humbly submit to you my resignation from the post of Indian administrative service with immediate effect that is effective from date 4 May 2020. The reason for submitting this resignation is personal safety on government duty.”
She put up her resignation letter on her Facebook page Monday afternoon, along with a post that said she along with her sister had taken permission to go to her hometown in Ghaziabad. An hour later, she posted on the page that the car which was carrying her and her sister to Ghaziabad had broken down and they were now waiting at the Gharonda toll plaza. She posted later the car had been repaired and that they were on their way again.
ThePrint approached the chief secretary and the Chief Minister’s Office for a comment, and a response is awaited. This report will be updated when they reply.
Meanwhile, Rani Nagar could not be contacted as her mobile phone was switched off.
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Sexual harassment accusations against boss
Nagar was posted as additional director in the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, and director of the Haryana Archives. She was in the news in June 2018 when she had accused her then boss, senior IAS officer Sunil Gulati, of sexual harassment. ThePrint had named her with her explicit permission.
At the time, Nagar was posted as additional secretary in the animal husbandry department, while Gulati was additional chief secretary. She went public with her complaint and posted her experience on her Facebook page, besides giving written complaints to the chief secretary.
Following an inquiry, Gulati was absolved of all charges.
Series of complaints and Facebook posts
Apart from Gulati, Nagar has also complained against some other officers of the Haryana government. In July 2018, she complained against a cab driver to the Mohali police, and also posted the entire incident on her Facebook page.
Nagar has been living in the Chandigarh UT guest house since May 2018. In November 2018, she complained about finding the door of a room open on her return. She posted on her Facebook page that despite several complaints against Gulati, no action was taken against him, and that she was susceptible to harm.
On 17 April this year, she put up a video also featuring her sister on Facebook, saying she had moved a Chandigarh court in 2019 against Gulati and some Chandigarh Police officers. “My life is in constant danger, and in case any harm comes to me or my sister or we are untraceable, then this statement be submitted before the court in Chandigarh,” she had requested her Facebook friends.
On 23 April, she wrote on her Facebook page that she has decided to resign from the IAS but since there was a curfew in Chandigarh, she and her sister could not leave, but once the lockdown or curfew was opened, she would resign and take permission to go back to her hometown, Ghaziabad.
On 30 April, she wrote to the Haryana chief secretary to permit her to use her official vehicle to travel to Ghaziabad. On 1 May, she again wrote to the chief secretary, this time asking for permission to transport household belongings to Ghaziabad.
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Congress questions govt on resignation
Criticising Manohar Lal Khattar’s government for Nagar’s resignation, the Congress’ national spokesperson Randeep Surjewala in a video statement issued Monday afternoon said if an IAS officer found her personal safety threatened in Haryana, then “there is nobody” who is safe in the state.
खट्टर साहेब,
आप सरकार चला रहे हैं,
या
आए दिन गड़बड़झाले की दुकान!जब भाजपा-जजपा शासन में महिला IAS अधिकारी ही सेफ़ नही, ड्यूटी पर खुद को असुरक्षित पा इस्तीफ़ा देने की नौबत है, तो हरियाणा की 2.5 करोड़ भोली भाली जनता का कौन रखवाला है?
क्या मुख्य मंत्री आगे बढ़ कर कारण बताएँगे? pic.twitter.com/y91zzCoqjt
— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) May 4, 2020
“Is this not a ‘no-confidence’ on your government? Is this not proof of your government’s incompetence? Haryana wants to know the reason why… Will Chief Minister Mr Khattar come forth and provide one?” Surjewala said.
ThePrint approached Haryana BJP president Subhash Barala for a response, and he said he would get back. This report will be updated when he responds.
Also read: Haryana doubles salaries of healthcare officials and workers fighting Covid-19