A high-level committee was formed on Friday to investigate allegations that two Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officers were subjected to “unwarranted” treatment and forcibly evicted from Lok Bhavan the previous day.
The two officers of the 2015 and 2023 batches had accompanied Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (PCCIT) Dr D. Sudhakara Rao to the premises on Thursday.
While Dr. Rao, who recently took charge on April 13, held a courtesy meeting with Governor Dr. Hari Babu Kambhampati at the Lok Bhavan, the two junior IRS officers remained waiting outside.
According to the allegation, they were met with “unwarranted behaviour” from staff and the ADC (Police), a 2021-batch IPS officer, before being removed from Lok Bhavan premises in a police vehicle and taken to the Capital Police Station on Thursday.
The officers were initially accused of being in an inebriated state; however, police sources stated the allegation was subsequently found to be entirely false.
Deeply concerned by the turn of events, Dr. Rao raised the issue with the Commissioner-cum-Secretary to the Governor through an official letter.
“The Lok Bhavan received the letter on Friday. We have formed a four-member senior officers committee to probe into the allegations. The panel was asked to submit its report by Tuesday, following which the matter will be placed before the Governor,” a senior official said.
The committee will speak to both parties during the inquiry.
In his letter to the Lok Bhavan, Rao said, “It is particularly galling that these officers, who were on official duty and acting under my direct instructions, were treated as unauthorised entrants… Furthermore, false aspersions regarding their sobriety were reportedly cast, which was subsequently proven baseless at the police station.”
Terming the incident as “high-handedness” and an affront to the dignity of civil servants, Dr. Rao called for a thorough review of the conduct of the security personnel and the ADC. He stressed the need to ensure such episodes, which damage the professional rapport between the two offices, do not recur.
Meanwhile, police sources said that no case was registered against the two IRS officers, though they were brought to the Capital Police Station.
