RAIPUR: After sacking two IPS officers recently the Centre has given compulsory retirement to two senior Indian Administrative Officers (IAS) from Chhattisgarh.
According to sources, a senior bureaucrat of the Madhya Pradesh cadre has also been removed from services for his alleged non-performance.
The official order is, however, yet to reach the state government though one of the sacked officers, Babu Lal Agrawal, has confirmed it.
Babu Lal Agrawal, a 1988-batch IAS officer, was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in February, 2018, in a bribery case for allegedly settling two serious issues registered against him in 2010.
He was later sent to jail by the Patiala High Court.
Ajay Pal Singh, a 1986 batch officer, has also been given compulsory retirement. The action was taken by the Centre on the basis of recommendations forwarded by the service review committee.
Both officers worked as principal secretaries in the Chhattisgarh government. The Centre took action against the senior babus "in public interest” for their alleged poor performance and misconduct.
On August 5, two IPS officers from Chhattisgarh -- K C Agrawal and A M Juri, were sacked for non-performance by the union home ministry.
In July, union minister Jitendra Singh said that instructions have been issued to all cadre-controlling authorities to review performances or service records at all levels of officials (Group A and Group B), so as to identify who may not be fit to continue service.
The Centre has, in the last six months, sent at least eight IAS/IPS officers on compulsory retirement. With five of them from Chhattisgarh and just three from other parts of India, people are asking , “Are most of the non-performing bureaucrats in the country working in Chhattisgarh”.
While Ajay Pal Singh was not available for comments, Babu Lal Agrawal calls himself a victim of conspiracy" and said he will fight for justice.