Uttarakhand IAS officers boycotted secretariat work on Friday to protest the manhandling of their colleague by a politician earlier this week. The incident occurred on Wednesday evening when the politician allegedly attacked state Power Secretary R Meenakshi Sundaram in his office and engaged in a scuffle with the staff.

The majority of IAS officers in the Uttarakhand secretariat stayed away from their offices on Friday in solidarity with the state Secretariat Employees Union, though no formal announcement was made by the state IAS association. While officials refused to comment officially, they informally expressed their support for the union’s decision to boycott work in protest against the manhandling of Meenakshi Sundaram and his staff.

The union’s protest stems from an incident on Wednesday evening when local political leader Bobby Panwar had a heated altercation with Sundaram in his office. Panwar allegedly attempted to attack Sundaram, leading to a verbal dispute and exchange of fisticuffs with the staff. Sources in the state secretariat informed that Panwar, who heads the Uttarakhand Unemployed Association and has been vocal against recruitment corruption in the state government, tried to use his shoes to beat Sumdaram but was prevented by the secretary’s staff.

As information about the incident spread like wildfire, union office bearers condemned Panwar for misbehaving and attacking the IAS officer, demanding legal action against him. The union had been protesting for action against Panwar for the past two days and called for an office boycott on Friday.

“I will not come to the office today in support of the union’s call for a work boycott. Action must be taken against Panwar,” said an additional secretary in the state secretariat, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Another additional secretary, who left his office immediately after entering, claimed, “You cannot expect the state IAS association to provide written reasons for keeping work off, but we support the call given by the State Secretariat Employees Union.”

However, when contacted, Uttarakhand IAS Association president and additional chief secretary Anand Bardhan denied any move for an office boycott by the officials. “The IAS Association has not taken any decision to abstain from work in the secretariat. However, the association has demanded legal action in the matter,” said the additional chief secretary. A delegation from the IAS Association met Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Thursday and demanded strict action against Panwar and a review of security in the secretariat.

Meanwhile, Bobby Panwar has refuted Sundaram’s charges that he had asked for a favour to secure a government tender. Panwar said that the IAS officer was not telling the truth. “I went to meet Sundaram to inquire about the reasons for granting an undue extension of service to the Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited (UPCL) managing director after his retirement, despite several allegations against him. What the IAS officer said is not true,” Panwar said.