Madhya Pradesh: Whistleblower IAS Lokesh Kumar Jangid claims threat to life and family, seeks protection

BHOPAL: Lokesh Kumar Jangid, the 2014 batch IAS officer who was showcaused by the Madhya Pradesh government over alleged leak of recorded telephonic conversation, has approached DGP Vivek Johri seeking personal security officers (PSOs) claiming that he has been threatened by an unknown person on Signal app.
Though senior officials are tightlipped on the issue, insiders say that the officer had blown whistle against alleged corruption in Covid-19 related procurements (oxygen concentrators) and some bureaucrats were unhappy.

In a complaint to the DGP, Jangid said that he received a call around 11.50pm asking him to go on six-month leave if he cares for himself and his family.
“Just like Vyapam whistleblowers, I am also facing an immediate threat to my life and family. Kindly provide me security,” he wrote.
After nine transfers in 54 months, Jangid had expressed his anguish at the ‘system’ in a closed messaging group of Madhya Pradesh IAS officers Association (MPIASOA). He was promptly removed from the group, and has since been showcaused by the government over an unrelated charge.
On Wednesday evening, the general administration department showcaused the 35-year-old officer for allegedly recording a telephone call from the principal secretary-GAD regarding his transfer and making it public. It amounts to breach of trust and privacy and is a violation of civil services rules, says the notice, asking Jangid to reply within seven days.
In leaked screenshots of his posts and conversations on the messaging group, Jangid alleges corruption and suggests he was repeatedly transferred for being honest. Jangid has written to chief secretary Iqbal Singh Bains seeking inter-cadre deputation to Maharashtra, citing personal reasons.
Jangid’s first posting was as SDM-Vijaypur in Sheopur district on November 1, 2016. He was attached to the secretariat a few months later. His most recent transfer was as additional MD, Rajya Siksha Kendra, within 41 days of being made additional collector of Barwani district.
On Monday Jangid posted, “Interestingly, those who mint money from all kinds of mafia get transferred from field to field. And those with impeccable integrity get thrown to the secretariat on transfer… stability of tenure in Madhya Pradesh and the joke of an institution called Civil Services Board… I will come out with a book post-retirement and hopefully bring the facts before everyone to see. Right now, my hands are tied by conduct rules.”
In another of his posts, he alleges he was removed as SDM from a district because he called the collector ‘weak’.