PATNA: After a lapse of more than a week, Bihar government on Wednesday suspended 2013 batch IAS officer Dr Jitendra Gupta SDO Mohania in Kaimur district on corruption charges under All India Services (discipline and Appeal) Rules 1969 with effect from July 12 till further orders.
Gupta is under judicial custody since July 12 night.
During his suspension period he will get his sustenance allowance as per the All India service Rules. The general administration department (GAD) on Wednesday issued notification to this effect.
Gupta was arrested by the vigilance bureau on July 12 on the charge of accepting bribe from drivers to release their overloaded trucks. The vigilance bureau registered a case (67/2016) under anti-corruption Act under 1988, said the additional secretary GAD Daya Nidhan Pandey in its notification which issued here on Wednesday.
The services of any officer who is detained for more than 48 hours stand automatically suspended, said an official.
Soon after Gupta’s arrest, IAS officers association (IASOA) Bihar Chapter had termed his’s arrest as “improper”. A copy of the minutes of the meeting was also sent by the association to the Indian civil and administrative (central) association, New Delhi, for appropriate action.
“The association had strongly condemned the hurried action taken against a serving officer, throwing all established provisions of propriety and law to the winds,” said one of the members of the association.
A major setback to the IASOA which termed Gupta’s arrest as ’improper”. Earlier on July 14, the association held an extra ordinary general body meeting of IASOA and decided to submit the memorandum and as well as the association would bear the legal and logistical expenses required for pursuing the matter.
A senior member of the association said, "We are working on the details of the memorandum including the safeguard of a public servant. We are looking into the matter that the memorandum should be practical and logical enough so that the government also should be able to implement it."
On July 4, he stopped four trucks laden with iron bars that were on their way to Rajasthan from Jamshedpur. He found two of the trucks overloaded and asked to be paid Rs 1.5 lakh for their release, said an official. He later scaled down his demand to Rs 80,000, but by then the truck owner had written to the state vigilance bureau and a trap had been laid.
“As soon as a truck driver handed over Rs 80,000 to the officer, a vigilance bureau team raided his house and recovered the cash along with the papers of the trucks,” said vigilance bureau official.
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