A day after a video clip purportedly showing IAS officer Rinku Singh Rahi doing sit-ups while holding his ears amid a protest by lawyers in Shahjahanpur went viral on social media, Rahi was removed from the post of SDM and got attached to Revenue Board in Lucknow late Wednesday evening.
The incident took place after the 2022-batch IAS officer who was transferred to Punwayan tehsil in Shahjahanpur as SDM on July 24 from Mathura had spotted a lawyer's clerk urinating in the open. Offended by the act, the officer allegedly reprimanded the clerk and made him do sit-ups, triggering a backlash from the lawyers who gathered in protest and allegedly forced Rahi to do the same.
However, taking cognizance of the alleged “theatrics” by the IAS officer, the state government in a late Wednesday evening decision shunted him and attached with Revenue Board in Lucknow.
Rahi could remain on the post of SDM, Punwayan tehsil, for a little over 24 hours after joining on Tuesday afternoon. He had joined as SDM at 2 pm on Tuesday and set on an inspection immediately.
The protesting lawyers said the clerk had no choice but to relieve himself in the open due to the deplorable condition of the tehsil's public toilets.
The SDM approached the lawyers and said while protests and demonstrations were allowed, the sound from loudspeakers should not reach the office. During this interaction, the lawyers raised the issue of the clerk being made to do sit-ups and questioned: “If the toilets are in such a filthy condition, where are the lawyers and clerks supposed to go?”
As tensions rose, Rahi acknowledged the fault of the administration and took an extraordinary step.
In front of the protesting lawyers and staff, he held his ears and performed five sit-ups, declaring: “I, too, will not urinate in the open. I must follow the rules myself.”
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