The Karnataka Police on Monday filed a first information report against Bharatiya Janata Party MLC N Ravi Kumar for saying that Kalaburagi Deputy Commissioner Fouzia Taranum “may have come from Pakistan”, The Indian Express reported.

The Karnataka Indian Administrative Service Officers’ Association has condemned Kumar’s remark. Taranum is a 2015 cadre Indian Administrative Service officer.

Kumar, the chief whip of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, made the comment at a rally organised by the Hindutva Party in Kalaburagi on Saturday against the alleged mistreatment of BJP MLC Chalavadi Narayanaswamy in Chittapur on May 21, NDTV reported.

Congress workers reportedly blockaded a government guest house and did not allow Narayanaswamy to come out. This came after the MLC allegedly likened Priyank Kharge, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s son and Karnataka minister, to a “dog”, according to The Indian Express.

Speaking at Saturday’s rally, Kumar claimed that the deputy commissioner’s office in Kalaburagi had lost its independence.

Taranum only listened to what the Congress said, he alleged.

“I do not know whether she comes from Pakistan or is an IAS officer here,” The Indian Express quoted Kumar as having said. “Listening to your applause, I think she might have come from Pakistan.”

Videos of the BJP MLC’s speech were circulated widely on social media.

On Monday, Kumar was booked under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to assertions prejudicial to national integration, threat of injury to a public servant, acts intended to outrage religious feelings, uttering words with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings, criminal intimidation and statements that could lead to public mischief.

Priyank Kharge, who is an MLA from a constituency in Kalaburagi district, condemned Kumar’s statements saying: “The knowledge of BJP leaders doesn’t go beyond Pakistan, [and] Muslim.”

Taranum was a recipient of the best electoral practices award conferred by the president in January.

The Karnataka IAS Officers’ Association said that Kumar’s statements were “deplorable” and “unacceptable”. It was an attempt to publicly undermine Taranum’s reputation, the association said.

“Ms Fouzia Taranum, IAS is an officer of impeccable integrity with an exemplary track record and deep dedication to public service and the state,” it added. “Remarks made by Ravikumar against her are baseless, unjustified and entirely devoid of rationale.”

Such “provocative and false statements” not only malign IAS officers but also inflict severe mental trauma and amount to harassment in the line of duty, said the association.

It demanded an unconditional apology from Kumar and urged the authorities to register a case against him under relevant provisions “for the deliberate dissemination of misinformation and for attempting to denigrate the stature of an officer holding the responsible office of district magistrate”.