Kolkata, April 6 Following the harassment of the judicial adjudication officers at Kaliachak in minority-dominated Malda district of West Bengal on the night of April 1, the Additional District Magistrate (law and order) of the district, Shaikh Ansar Ahamad, an Indian Administrative (IAS) officer, has been slapped with a show-cause notice charging him of serious dereliction of duty.
The show-cause notice dated April 4 was issued by the office of the Malda District Magistrate. Ahamad had been asked to reply to the notice within seven days from the date of issuance of the notice, failing which the no-reply will be construed as an admission of the lapse attributed to him, and disciplinary proceedings shall be initiated ex parte without further reference to him.
In the notice, it had been clearly stated that the said ADM was explicitly directed to maintain constant and close vigil on the evolving situation in anticipation of law and order disturbances in the district, to ensure seamless coordination between the civil, police, and administration.
In the notice, the said ADM had also been reminded that he was specifically directed to proceed to the Kaliachak area between 3.30 p.m. and 4.00 p.m. on April 1 and maintain close and continuous contact with all concerned authorities, to ensure effective field-level monitoring and prompt escalation of any deteriorating situation to the higher administration.
However, the show-cause notice had maintained that the physical presence of the said ADM in the field grossly failed to communicate the gravity of the situation to the higher authorities during the critical period between 3.30 p.m. and 8.30 p.m. on April 1.
As per the notice, during this critical period of five hours, the higher administration was left without any field-level input from the ADM concerned, thereby severely compromising the ability of the administration to take timely preventive or remedial measures.
"Such a failure, as per the show-cause notice, constituted a serious dereliction of duty, a breach of the trust reposed in you, and is wholly unbecoming of an IAS officer and hence potentially jeopardised public order and rendered the higher administration unable to discharge its own responsibilities effectively during a critical window of time," the notice read.
“Whereas, the aforesaid conduct is prima facie in violation of Rule 3(l) of the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968, which enjoins every member of the service to maintain absolute devotion to duty, and is contrary to the basic responsibilities of an officer entrusted with Law and Order functions during a sensitive period,” the show-cause notice further said.
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