Bihar Administrative Services Association (BASA) on Thursday filed a police complaint against senior IAS officer K K Pathak for allegedly using expletives and derogatory remarks against officials and people of the state at a meeting, police said.
A purported video clip of the incident, which some officials dated to November last year, has been circulating on social media since Wednesday.
Pathak, an IAS (Indian Administrative Service) officer of 1990 batch, is additional chief secretary, holding charges of excise, prohibition, revenue and registration departments. Earlier this week, he had ordered the cancellation of BASA registration, citing alleged flouting of bylaws by the body that has 1200-odd officials as its members.
On Thursday, BASA general secretary Sunil Tiwari submitted a two-page complaint and the 36-second video clip with Sachivalaya police station in Patna and sought the registration of an FIR (first information report) against Pathak.
Bhagirath Prasad, the station house officer of Sachivalaya police station, said he has received the complaint form BASA and police will investigate the matter further.
Excise and prohibition minister Sunil Kumar told reporters he too had seen the video clip and promised action if the allegation is found true.
An official familiar with the matter said that the video clip is from a a training session organised in Gaya by Bihar Public Administration and Rural Development (BPARD) for probationer deputy collectors in November last year.
Pathak, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, also holds the additional charge of Managing Director of BPARD.
“Have you ever seen anyone honking on the road even when the signal is red, but on Bailey road in Patna, people keep honking at the red light,” Pathak is purportedly heard saying, while using expletives. The man in the video clip is also heard using abusive language for a particular deputy collector who is not present at the meeting.
BASA has also demanded Pathak’s removal from his posts.
“A few days ago, we had raised the issue of training at BPARD where a young trainee died. But our suggestion offended him and he cancelled BASA’s registration. We now demand that such a mentally disturbed officer has no right to be in service. We will request the chief minister and chief secretary to take action against him or else we will be forced to stage a protest,” said Tiwari, adding that BASA members will wear black badges at work on Friday.
Meanwhile, opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also joined the issue. Its spokesperson Nikhil Anand said in a tweet, “He (KK Pathak) is abusing BASA officers like a street hooligan. He must apologise or be sacked. Pathak may be educated but he is suffering from frustration after being in bureaucracy for a long time. He should get himself treated.”
Pathak could not be contacted for his comment despite several attempts.
On Thursday evening, the BIPARD released a communiqué, claiming that Pathak has expressed regret on his choice of words but accused BASA officials of “indecent conduct” and “indiscipline”.
