Durga Shakti Nagpal may be named OSD in farm ministry

Nagpal came into the limelight when she was suspended from service by the UP govt in July, for taking on the powerful sand-mining mafia

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Durga Shakti Nagpal, the 2010 batch Indian Administrative Service officer who was in the public eye after she fell out with the Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh and was suspended for a while, might soon get a central deputation under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government at the Centre.

She is likely to be appointed officer on special duty (OSD) at the agriculture ministry.

Officials said Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh had sought cadre and vigilance clearances for her appointment. A letter seeking a clearance was sent to her cadre a few days ago. A clearance has also been sought from the Uttar Pradesh government, under which she is currently posted.

The officials added that Singh was keen to get her on board because of her impeccable track record and efficiency. The minister wants Nagpal's post to be co-terminus with his tenure at the department.

Nagpal came into the limelight a year ago, when she was suspended from service in July, for taking on the powerful sand-mining mafia. At that time, she was sub-divisional magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar in Uttar Pradesh. It was believed the immediate trigger was she had led a team to demolish an illegally-built wall of a mosque.

The suspension led to national furore, with many political parties, including the BJP, as well as eminent citizens, criticising the move, alleging it was on flimsy grounds. The all-India IAS Association had also sided with the suspended official, seeking the intervention of the Union government. It demanded she be reinstated.

Following her suspension, she was served a charge sheet, to which she filed a written reply on August 16, 2013. The state government had rejected her reply and set up a high-level probe committee under principal secretary R M Srivastava to look into the allegations against Nagpal and submit a report.

In September 2013, she was reinstated by the state government, after her suspension order was revoked.

Currently, she is posted as joint magistrate of Kanpur (rural).

Nagpal graduated from the Indira Gandhi Delhi Technological University in 2007. She also has a degree in computer engineering.

In the 2009 UPSC civil services examinations, she secured an all-India rank of 20th, after which she joined the IAS. She began her career with the Punjab cadre, joining the Mohali district administration in June 2011, where she worked for 14 months. As a trainee IAS officer in Punjab, she had exposed a land scam in Mohali.

In 2012, she moved to the Uttar Pradesh cadre as sub-divisional magistrate of Sadar, Noida.

She is married to Abhishek Singh, also an IAS officer.

Recently, Nagpal's husband was suspended by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav for allegedly treating a Dalit teacher in Mathura district in an "inhuman" manner.