‘Fighting this in the dark,’ says IAS officer suspended for checking Modi’s chopper in Odisha
Mohammed Mohsin said he has not received a copy of the report against him.
Indian Administrative Service officer Mohammed Mohsin, who was suspended for checking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s helicopter in Odisha, said he had not violated any rules and was unaware of the charges against him, Hindustan Times reported.
The Election Commission on Thursday revoked the suspension order after the Central Administrative Tribunal stayed the poll panel’s order. The Election Commission, however, asked the Karnataka government to take disciplinary action against him and debar him from further election activities.
Mohsin, an IAS officer from Karnataka, was posted as general observer of the Election Commission in Sambalpur, Odisha. The Election Commission suspended him on April 16 – the day a team inspected Modi’s helicopter – on the basis of a written complaint by the District Election Officer of Sambalpur.
“I acted strictly as per the letter and spirit of the ECI guidelines,” Mohsin said. “I have not violated any rules and I have not done anything wrong in this matter. This is why I asked for a copy of the report against me, but they have so far not shared this. I am fighting this case in the dark.”
The poll panel said it found the IAS officer guilty of dereliction of duty as he did not act in conformity with instructions about dignitaries under Special Protection Group protection.
Mohsin claimed he was not at the spot when Modi’s chopper was searched. “I had ordered videography during the April 16 rally but did not direct the search of PM Modi’s chopper,” he told News18. “I was not at the spot when the search took place.”
Mohsin said the suspension order was “illegal and illogical” and claimed that the poll panel has not shared the district administration’s report against him. “I am still not aware of what the administration has said about me.”
“On the spur of the moment they have suspended me,” he told NDTV. “I have not received a single report that can tell me what I have done.”