Chhattisgarh IAS officer faces sexual assault probe
By IANSFriday, February 12, 2010
RAIPUR - An enquiry has been ordered against an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer in Chhattisgarh after a woman accused him of sexually assaulting her, an official said Friday.
“We have received a written complaint from a woman gazetted officer accusing Avinash Champavat of sexually harassing her when the 2003 batch IAS officer was collector of Kanker district,” the official said.
The official said the state government has ordered an enquiry against the IAS officer.
The enquiry will be conducted as per the guidelines of the Supreme Court. A committee, headed by a woman, will be set up to enquire into the complaints of sexual assault.
Earlier this week in a minor administrative reshuffle, the state government shifted about a dozen IAS officers, including Champavat. He was shifted to the state secretariat as deputy secretary, Finance, from his Kanker district collector posting.
Champavat was not available for comment but his wife Neha Champavat, an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, said her husband was being framed in the case and sought an enquiry into “the alleged conspiracy” by the woman officer.
