IAS officers 'help' colleague accused of rape attempt
Bureaucrats allegedly put pressure on railway police to go easy on UP officer who was arrested from a train after complaint by corporate executive. Gulam Jeelani reports.
At least 20 IAS officers of Uttar Pradesh cadre rushed to the Charbagh railway station to lobby for their colleague Shashi Bhushan Lal Susheel, who was detained by the GRP for alleged rape bid on a girl on-board Lucknow Mail on Monday.
They tried their best to bail out Susheel, who was not kept in the lockup against rules, and insisted for a compromise with the victim’s family. The IAS officers were unwilling to believe that their colleague could stoop to such levels. They were of the view that the victim’s family had cooked up a story against their colleague.
Sources said there was a beeline of beacon-fitted Ambassador cars outside the GRP police station. The officers mounted pressure on the GRP not to register a case of attempt to rape. But the never-say-die attitude of the girl’s family members and the presence of media personnel thwarted all their attempts.
Sources said it was because of their pressure that GRP inspector Anil Rai went soft on the accused and tried to shield him. Rai has been suspended by the government and the accused sent in 14 days judicial custody.
“At one stage I thought I would give in to the pressure. But then thought of my daughter’s trauma came to my mind and I decided to bring him to justice,” the victim’s mother told HT.
Meanwhile, the incident sent shock waves in the corridors of power here. As the incident involved an IAS officer posted as special secretary in the state secretariat, the officers and employees alike discussed the incident and the charges leveled against him.
“Did the officer really behave like this? Has the incident been blown out of proportion? Has he been framed?” were some of the questions they were seen discussing.
Some of them felt that the officer should not have been arrested immediately after lodging of the FIR against him. “Arrest should have been made only after proper investigations. The officer’s suspension also come immediately. What if he is found not guilty,” said an officer adding the incident would spoil the career of the arrested officer.
“In some cases, the state government had not suspended officers even after they remained in jail for three months on charges of corruption. In this case the officer has been placed under suspension immediately,” said another officer.