Suspended Kerala IAS officer seeks clarification from chief secretary on charge memo

Thiruvananthapuram: An IAS officer under suspension in Kerala has sought clarifications from the state chief secretary with regard to the charge memo issued to him.

Former special secretary in agriculture department N Prasanth has sent a letter to Chief Secretary Sarada Muraleedharan on this.

The unusual move comes close on the heels of Prasanth sending legal notices to the chief secretary and two other IAS colleagues accusing them of fabricating evidence against him.

Prasanth was placed under suspension for openly criticising additional chief secretary A Jayathilak through social media. Subsequently, a charge memo was issued to him.

In response to that, Prasanth sent a letter to the chief secretary seeking clarification on who gave the complaint against him and whether the screenshots of his social media posts were digitally verified.

Prasanth's moves have reportedly irked the government and it is unlikely to show any leniency to him.

Prasanth, who is a 2007 batch officer, was popularly known as 'collector bro' during his term as Kozhikode collector as he initiated many schemes.

He had also worked as private secretary to opposition leaders while Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala was the opposition leader. Prasanth had also served as private secretary to former union minister for tourism K J Alphonse, but for a brief term only.