IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal, whose suspension has triggered a controversy and a turf war between the ruling Samajwadi Party and the bureaucracy, was served with a charge sheet by the Uttar Pradesh government on Sunday.
The Sub-Divisional Magistrate (Sadar) in Gautam Budh Nagar district was suspended on July 27 on charges of ordering the demolition of the wall of an under-construction mosque at Kadalpur village. But the action is attributed to her taking on the sand mafia.
An official spokesman told The Hindu that the 10-page charge sheet was issued by the State Appointment and Personnel Department. However, this development was confirmed only late in the night. Ms. Nagpal is understood to have been charged with taking a one-sided decision in ordering the demolition.A notice ought to have been served prior to the demolition, the charge sheet said.
Ms. Nagpal has been given 15 days’ time to file her reply. Copies of the charge sheet and the suspension order have been sent to the Central government, sources said.
The issuance of the charge sheet underscored the tough line taken by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and SP president Mulayam Singh, especially after the IAS Association took up Ms. Nagpal’s cause.
Moreover, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking his intervention in the issue hardened the SP’s stand further, sources said. Ms. Gandhi’s move angered Mr. Mulayam Singh.
