3 more COs suspended for dereliction of duty

Patna: Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha, who also holds the revenue and land reforms department portfolio, suspended three more circle officers (COs) for alleged dereliction of duty on Friday and Saturday. The suspended officers include Rahul Kumar of Buxar Sadar, Harsha Komal of Shahkund in Bhagalpur district and Dolly Kumari of Dumra block in Sitamarhi.According to officials, the action was taken for allegedly creating obstacles during CM Nitish Kumar’s Samriddhi Yatra and for defying departmental directives. With the latest action, the number of suspended circle and revenue officers has risen to six, as three officials had earlier been suspended for going on strike.The department alleged that the officers failed to submit allocation expenditure statements and utilisation certificates to the Accountant General’s office in March. They are also accused of not complying with court orders related to the removal of encroachments, amounting to contempt of court.Circle officers and revenue officers across Bihar have been on strike for nearly a month. Deputy CM has repeatedly appealed to them to resume work and had warned that those who failed to rejoin duty by Friday evening would face disciplinary action. The govt has also cautioned that if the strike continues, the officials’ services may be treated as discontinued, resulting in the loss of promotion-related benefits.