Lucknow: Rinku Singh Rahi, an Indian Administrative Service officer of the 2023 batch who has previously been at the centre of multiple controversies, is in the spotlight yet again. The Jalaun Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) was transferred Tuesday and posted as SDM (Judicial), Orai. Rakesh Kumar Soni is the new SDM of Jalaun.
The administrative reshuffle, ordered by Jalaun District Magistrate Rajesh Kumar Pandey, comes after an alleged verbal spat followed by “pushing” between Rahi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) block chief Ramraja Niranjan a few days ago. Senior Uttar Pradesh officials have, however, described the transfer as a routine administrative exercise.
The incident dates back to 23 June, when Rahi visited a cold storage facility for inspection. BJP leader Ramraja Niranjan was also present at the site, and an argument is said to have broken out between the two. According to the BJP leader, the verbal exchange escalated to the point where the SDM attempted to slap him. Niranjan alleged that the blow missed his face and landed on his hand instead. The entire incident was captured on surveillance cameras installed at the premises.
Following the incident, Niranjan submitted a written complaint to the District Magistrate Rajesh Pandey along with the surveillance footage as evidence. Taking note of the allegations, the district administration constituted a five-member high-level inquiry committee to investigate the matter.
Speaking to the media, Niranjan welcomed the transfer and thanked the district administration, but said it was not enough. “The transfer is not a solution. After the inquiry, legal action should be taken and a First Information Report should also be registered against the SDM so that no respectable citizen has to face such humiliation in the future,” he said.
This is not the first time Rahi has had friction with BJP leaders. About a month ago, BJP legislator Gaurishankar Verma had also publicly objected to the officer’s style of functioning in Jalaun.
Rahi has not made a statement. His phone was unreachable when ThePrint tried to reach him.
Before becoming an IAS officer, Rinku Singh Rahi served as a Provincial Civil Services (PCS) officer in the state. In 2008, when he was posted to Muzaffarnagar, he exposed massive corruption in a scholarship and fee reimbursement scheme. In 2009, he was severely injured while playing badminton, losing vision in one eye.
It was in 2022 that he took the Civil Services Examination under the differently-abled quota and fulfilled his dream of becoming an IAS officer.
Viral episode
Soon after completing his IAS training, Rahi was posted as SDM to Shahjahanpur in 2025, where he soon was the focus of a controversy when he allegedly made a court clerk do sit-ups as punishment for littering. Lawyers had protested against the action.
Instead of backing down, Rahi went to the protesting lawyers and publicly performed sit-ups himself while holding his ears, saying that rules and punishment should apply equally to everyone. The video of the incident went viral, and he was subsequently attached to the revenue board in Lucknow.
While attached to the Revenue Board, Rahi expressed dissatisfaction over not being assigned any work. On 26 March this year, he submitted his resignation, saying he did not wish to draw a salary without performing official duties.
In his resignation letter, he also requested reversion to his previous PCS post of District Social Welfare Officer so that he could continue serving the public directly. He was then posted to Jalaun as SDM.
(Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya)