Government seeks report from UP on Durga Shakti suspension

The Congress-led central government has sought a report from the Akhilesh Yadav government on the suspension of a gutsy woman IAS officer, who had cracked down on the illegal sand mining in Uttar Pradesh's Noida area.

The department of personnel and training (DoPT) of the ministry of personnel, which is with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, has written to the Samajwadi Party government two-three days ago, asking for a report on the suspension of IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal, informed sources said Sunday.

"The report was sent two-three days ago. We are awaiting a reply," a source told IANS.

Nagpal, a 28-year-old 2009-batch officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), was suspended by the Uttar Pradesh government July 29, leading to a public outcry.

The Akhilesh Yadav government has maintained that the sub-divisional magistrate of Noida was suspended for razing a mosque wall which could have led to inter-community tensions in the area and not for any action against the "sand mafia".

Her suspension for allegedly taking on the politically well-connected sand mining dons has stirred the country and made people rally behind the young woman officer.

On Saturday, Congress president Sonia Gandhi wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying that Nagpal should not be "unfairly treated".

Gandhi said: "This particular instance has highlighted the need to assess if there are adequate safeguards in place to protect executive functionaries working beyond the average call of duty to uphold the rule of law."

The central services, like the IAS, come under the DoPT.