Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday issued orders to suspend an IAS officer accused of raping a 33-year-old woman in Janjgir- Champa district of the State, officials said.
A committee was formed to investigate the charges filed on him, the officials said.
On Wednesday, an FIR was registered against IAS officer Janak Prasad Pathak for allegedly raping the woman during his tenure as Janjgir-Champa collector last month.
“Taking serious cognisance of the allegations against the officer, the chief minister has directed Chief Secretary R P Mandal to suspend him with immediate effect and get the matter probed by a high-level committee,” an official statement said.
Pathak was transferred as Director of Land Records in Raipur from Janjgir-Champa on May 26 this year.
In the complaint, the woman reportedly said that the IAS officer sexually exploited the woman and also used to send obscene messages to her. He also alleged blackmailed her that he would sack her husband if she “reacts”.
The case was registered against Pathak under IPC sections 376 (rape), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 509 B (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman).
