Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi today ordered registration of an FIR against a top official of Animal Husbandry department here for alleged sexual harassment of a woman employee.
She also directed that the Joint Director of Animal Husbandry department P Padmanabhan"be 'divested' of his current duties.
Forwarding the copy of her order to media, Bedi said she had perused the interim report of the District Level Complaints Committee (DLCC) she had received yesterday against the official.
The Committee was constituted by the government to go into the complaints of sexual harassment at work places.
It had submitted its report after probing the complaint of sexual harassment received from a woman employee in the department against the official, on April 18.
In her order, Bedi stated that the complaint lodged against the official with the police be investigated by filing an FIR.
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The investigation should be "duly supervised by Senior Superintendent of Police (Law and Order)," she pointed out.
"In view of the sensitivity of the matter and to meet the ends of justice and in public interest, the Joint Director of Department of Animal Husbandry Padmanabhan shall henceforth stand divested of the current duties of the post of Director of the Department," she added.
Bedi also said the Law Secretary to the territorial government had been instructed to secure the stay order of the Madras High Court obtained by Padmanabhan against the enquiry by DLCC vacated at the earliest.
Meanwhile, around 50 volunteers of women's were taken into custody when they attempted to picket the territorial assembly to urge the government to arrest the official allegedly involved in sexual harassment.