Rajan Khobragade, Tinku Biswal to probe charges against suspended IAS officer N. Prasanth
Rajan N. Khobragade, Additional Chief Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, has been appointed the inquiring authority. Tinku Biswal, Principal Secretary, Revenue and Disaster Management, will act as the Presenting Officer, according to a July 22 order issued by the government.
Mr. Prasanth was placed on suspension on November 11, 2024, on charges of levelling serious allegations against A. Jayathilak, the then Additional Chief Secretary who is now Chief Secretary. The suspension has since been extended.
Mr. Khobragade and Ms. Biswal will inquire into the charges against Mr. Prasanth, a 2007 batch officer, in the Articles of Charges and Statement of Imputations served on him in December 2024. The officers have been directed to submit their report to the government within three months.
The government has decided to carry out a 'detailed enquiry' into the matter as Mr. Prasanth has not admitted to any of the charges against him. Also, the government has not accepted his reasons for denying the charges.
The entire issue is related to an inquiry report allegedly prepared by Dr. Jayathilak blaming Mr. Prasanth for the disappearance of files related to the Unnathi project, when he was its chief executive officer (CEO), and anomalies in his attendance record. As the issue snowballed, Mr. Prasanth had also served a legal notice on Dr. Jayathilak; K. Gopalakrishnan, another IAS officer; and the then Chief Secretary Sarada Muraleedharan for 'fabrication of documents, criminal conspiracy, abetment and violation of criminal laws.
Mr. Prasanth, in an apparent response to the government move, remarked in a Facebook post that serious offences cannot be kept under wraps forever.
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