COVID-19 lockdown: Village revenue official suspended for dereliction of duty in J-K's Kishtwar

A village revenue official was on Wednesday suspended after he failed to report a marriage ceremony that took place despite the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district, officials said.

The lambardar' (village revenue official) of Cherji was placed under suspension for dereliction of duties by Kishtwar District Development Commissioner Rajidner Singh Tara, they said.

The action against the lambardar' was taken on the basis of a report received from tehsildar Pramod Kumar, the officials said.

According to the report, the marriage ceremony was held in Halqa Cherji area on Sunday without obtaining any permission from the competent authorities, they said.

The lambardar' failed to report the matter despite administration's orders of maintaining social distancing and other protocols under various provisions of the Disaster Management Act and the Epidemic Diseases Act, the officials said.

An inquiry into the incident has been ordered and Kishtwar tehsildar will submit a detailed factual report within two weeks, they said.