‘Bl**dy s**t, I am your boss’: IAS officer abuses woman colleague in virtual meeting in JK

Ranjan is facing a CBI probe into his role in the arms licence case; a disproportionate assets case was also registered against him and his family members last year

Srinagar: A senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer in Jammu and Kashmir has come under scrutiny after a video purportedly showing him using abusive language against a woman Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service (JKAS) officer during an official virtual meeting surfaced on social media, sparking widespread outrage.

The officer has been identified as Kumar Rajeev Ranjan, Secretary of the Labour and Employment Department in Jammu and Kashmir. The woman officer is Beenish Wani, an Assistant Director in the Employment Department, according to The Indian Express.

Sources cited in the report said the confrontation occurred during a review meeting of Mission YUVA, convened to assess the progress of the programme. A video of the exchange, which has since circulated widely online, captures Ranjan losing his temper and directing derogatory remarks at Wani while asserting his authority by saying, “I am your boss.”

Wani confirmed that the incident had occurred, according to The Indian Express, and denied that the video was morphed or generated using artificial intelligence. She said she had joined the meeting remotely from home despite being on leave because of a fractured foot.

Emphasising the importance of dignity and respect in the workplace, Wani said that no woman should be subjected to such treatment.

Responding to the controversy, Ranjan expressed regret, saying he was sorry if he had said anything inappropriate in the heat of the moment. However, he maintained that Wani had continued to provoke him despite repeated requests to remain quiet.

Defending the need for accountability in administrative proceedings, Ranjan questioned how review meetings could function effectively if officers were not challenged or questioned about their work.

He also alleged that Wani had used the phrase “hell with you” during the exchange. Questioning the implications for administrative hierarchy, he asked how it could function if a junior officer used such language towards a senior.

Following the controversy, the Jammu and Kashmir Department of Labour and Employment issued a clarification addressing the video clips circulating on social media.

The department stressed that mutual respect, discipline and professional decorum were essential to official interactions. It said officers and officials were expected to maintain appropriate conduct and show due respect to their seniors while performing their duties. It also maintained that provocative comments and inappropriate language had no place in administrative discussions, which should be guided by restraint and institutional dignity.

The department expressed concern over the circulation of what it described as selectively edited clips, arguing that videos shared without the full context of the proceedings could give a misleading impression of the exchange. It also described the circulating footage as unverified.

The department said the matter would be pursued to its logical conclusion in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations.

The Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Services (JKAS) fraternity on Thursday condemned the alleged abuse and public humiliation of Wani and demanded an impartial inquiry into the incident.

In a statement, the JKAS fraternity said that while it unequivocally upholds administrative accountability and performance monitoring, it maintains that no supervisory authority can justify abusive language, intimidation or such misconduct that undermines the dignity of a serving officer.

The fraternity said this is not an isolated incident, as the IAS officer is alleged to have a pattern of using “unparliamentary and demeaning language” in an official capacity.

“More disturbing is the department’s subsequent attempt to dismiss the circulating video as AI-generated and fabricated. The video is authentic, as testified by the officer herself and other officials who were present during the virtual meeting,” the statement said.

It added that the fraternity considers it deeply unfortunate that instead of allowing the matter to conclude with an apology and appropriate institutional corrective action, the Administrative Secretary has allegedly chosen to aggravate the controversy through a public clarification that “raises further questions about accountability and professional ethics”.

The fraternity called upon Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Chief Secretary Atal Dullo, and the General Administration Department to order an impartial inquiry into both the original incident and the subsequent departmental clarification, ensure that no retaliatory action is taken against the affected officer, and establish effective safeguards against workplace intimidation and abuse of authority, the statement said.

It said the fraternity reiterates that administrative discipline must be founded on mutual respect, fairness and accountability.

The JKAS fraternity demanded that the concerned officer tender a public apology. It also sought that no further harm be caused to the aggrieved officer and that proceedings for misconduct be recommended against Ranjan for allegedly misbehaving with and verbally abusing a fellow officer, and for “misusing” his office to issue a false statement.

Estranged National Conference MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi criticised IAS officer Ranjan for allegedly using abusive language against the JKAS officer.

In a post on X, Mehdi’s office said, “That’s how a senior IAS officer in J&K — Administrative Secretary, Labour & Employment — dealt with a woman KAS officer who wouldn’t be shouted down in front of a room full of officers.”

“This is a grown man with a Secretary’s chair threatening a woman’s career because she asked to be allowed to finish a sentence,” Mehdi’s office said.

“This is what abrogation of Article 370 has brought upon us. An assault on dignity at every level. Even the officers in administration behave like conquerors.@OfficeOfLGJandK @DullooAtal — if she is touched for holding her dignity, it will have consequences,” it said.

Ranjan is facing a CBI probe into his role in the arms licence case, while a disproportionate assets case was also registered against him and his family members last year.

Ranjan, who was earlier the deputy commissioner of Kupwara, is under the scanner in the agency’s probe into irregularities in the issuance of thousands of arms licences to non-residents in J&K.

“How dare you use such derogatory, demeaning language? Take your god complex & dirty slurs elsewhere. We won’t tolerate this in Kashmir. Since 2019, KAS & competent Kashmiri IAS officers are deliberately being elbowed out. There is a concerted effort to undermine local officers both in administration & police. Thereby making them subservient to outside officers lording over them,” PDP leader Iltija Mufti wrote on her X.

“Decency demands this man be suspended immediately. You are quick to fire Kashmiri employees. Hope you use the same yardstick here,” the post added.

State spokesperson of JKNC Imran Nabi Dar said, “This is the gift of proponents of so-called ‘Naya Kashmir’. The chief minister, Omar Abdullah, has thankfully taken serious note of the incident and will see to it that the female KAS officer is not targeted. His reported language and conduct appear to reflect a feudal, colonial mindset wholly incompatible with public service.”

“No officer—however senior—has the right to insult, demean or humiliate a colleague. If he cannot respect a woman colleague, he has no business holding a position of authority,” he added.

Who is Kumar Rajeev Ranjan?

Kumar Rajeev Ranjan is a senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer serving as Secretary of the Labour and Employment Department in Jammu and Kashmir. He has previously come under the scanner of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with a disproportionate assets case linked to the agency’s investigation into alleged irregularities in the Jammu and Kashmir arms licence scam.

According to media reports, the CBI registered a case against Ranjan after examining his assets during its investigation into the arms licence cases. The agency subsequently conducted searches at seven locations in Jammu, Srinagar, Gurugram, Varanasi and Patna, including his office chamber at the Civil Secretariat in Jammu and Kashmir, as part of the disproportionate assets investigation. Officials alleged that he had accumulated assets that he could not satisfactorily account for.

The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) had also granted the CBI sanction to prosecute Ranjan in connection with the alleged arms licence scam, according to reports.