Bihar IAS officer faces probe for assaulting official

Additional Secretary of the HRD department K K Pathak reportedly called Laxman Ram, an auditor posted in Magadh University in Bodh Gaya, and following a heated argument, beat up the auditor, with other officials present in the chamber.

Ram suffered cut in his right hand. He alleged that the IAS official assaulted him when he refused to obey his order for undue favour in a case.

Ram has lodged an FIR against Pathak, charging him with perpetrating atrocity on a dalit and addressing him by caste in presence of some other officials.

Other employees under the banner of the Secretariat Employees Association soon collected near Pathak's chamber and confined him there for more than two hours seeking action, they said.

As the news reached Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who was away in Rajgir to attend the JD(U) workers' camp, he directed Chief Secretary Anup Mukherjee to inquire into the incident.

Later, Principal Secretary of HRD Anjani Kumar Singh regretted the matter and said the Chief Minister had taken serious view of it.

"We have decided to constitute a high-level inquiry to unravel the truth for taking action against those responsible for the incident", Singh said.

The secretariat employees later resumed their normal work following assurance from Singh.