Bhubaneswar: Two young Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officers were allegedly turned away from the Lok Bhavan in Odisha and subjected to ‘unwarranted’ treatment during a scheduled courtesy meeting on Thursday.
The officers, Manish Kumar (2015 batch) and Satya Prakash Mishra (2023 batch), were part of a delegation led by Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax Sudhakara Rao.
Sources said the two officers were assigned duty at the Lok Bhavan to coordinate the visit of the Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (PCCIT), Odisha, who paid a courtesy visit to Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati on Thursday.
According to sources, the two officers did not have entry passes and were stopped by the security personnel and aide-de-camp (ADC). Sources said the Lok Bhavan security staff called the police, and the two officers were taken to the Capital police station in a ‘police vehicle.’
“The incident happened due to a miscommunication. The two officers were immediately allowed to go once they revealed their identity. Also, there was no formal complaint against them. Hence, no case was registered,” said a senior police officer in Bhubaneswar.
Describing the incident as “deeply distressing”, D Sudhakara Rao wrote to the commissioner-cum-secretary to the Governor. He expressed concern over the conduct of the security personnel and the ADC, and said the two officers were on official duty and acting under his directions.
Rao, in his letter, alleged that despite the visit being coordinated in advance, and despite the officers proactively informing the OSD to the Governor and the ADC of their presence in the waiting area, they were subjected to “unprovoked and atrocious treatment”. At the behest of the ADC (Police), they were forcibly removed from the Lok Bhavan premises in a police vehicle and taken to the Capital Police Station, alleged the PCCIT.
“This treatment occurred despite the fact that our support staff and drivers remained on the premises undisturbed. Furthermore, false aspersions regarding their sobriety were reportedly cast, which was subsequently proven baseless at the police station,” he noted.
The PCCIT also stated that such high-handedness toward senior civil servants is an affront to the dignity of their office.
In a post on X, Lok Bhavan confirmed Rao’s visit, saying he had “a brief interaction on matters relating to tax administration and public service delivery” with the Governor.