Suspended IAS officer spoils for a fight

While the government had on Wednesday served the suspension order on the officer, for allegedly producing a ‘false community certificate’to claim Dalit or SC status while getting appointed by the UPSC in 1990, Umashankar stood his ground without directly joining issue with the DMK regime.

Known for his upright approach, Umashankar had exposed a scam during the AIADMK regime in the construction of cremation sheds in Madurai; more he recently sought to break the monopoly of the private cable TV operator, Sumangali Cable Vision (SCV) of the Kalanidhi Maran-owned ‘Sun Network’.

This had dramatic consequences for Umashankar, who was shifted first from the post of managing director of the state-owned Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu and then to the newly formed Arasu Cable TV Corporation that brought him into direct conflict with the alleged machinations of the ‘SUN Network’ to help retain its monopoly as an MSO.

Umashanakar was again shunted out of that post and made director of Small Savings and a vigilance probe instituted against him for alleged possession of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. The officer moved the high court to get an interim stay against the probe. Sources close to the officer said that the petition must have been the “trigger” for the government to suspend him now on grounds of adducing a ‘false community certificate’.