IAS officer forcibly enters girls' hostel, threatens head

Irked over being stopped at the gates by the guards, a senior IAS officer ‘forcibly’ entered a Lucknow University girls’ hostel in the state capital and allegedly threatened the provost for daring to refuse him permission to enter there.

The provost, a lady professor has lodged a complaint with the Vice-Chancellor of the varsity and other officials and sought an action against IAS officer T P Pathak.

According to the sources, Pathak reached the hostel on Friday and asked the guards to open the gates and let him in with his official vehicle.

The IAS officer told the guards that he wanted to meet the provost Prof Sheela Mishra to discuss the case of an inmate, who had been served a notice by the provost for indiscipline.
As only the parents, local guardian or someone nominated by the inmate could enter the hostel, the guards refused to let Pathak in. An angry Pathak forced his way in, barged into the provost’s cabin and allegedly ‘misbehaved’ with her.

“I am above the Vice-Chancellor. How dare you refuse me permission to enter the hostel?” Pathak was quoted as telling the provost.

Mishra, however, held her grounds and refused to entertain Pathak.
“About 500 girls are there in the hostel. Their security is the first priority. There can be no compromise on this issue,” said Mishra.

She also said she would approach the Women’s Commission to lodge her complaint.
“It is a case of indiscipline and an action will be taken against the girl as per rules,” she went on to add.

On the other hand, Pathak claimed that the guards had misbehaved with him.
“I had gone there in my official vehicle and yet I was denied permission to enter the hostel,” he said.

The varsity administration said a complaint had been received from the provost and was being looked into.