Bulandshahr minority welfare officer suspended

A district officer was suspended by the Uttar Pradesh government here after he was found guilty of misleading it about setting up a Rs 2.25 crore technical college for minority students.
District Minority Welfare officer Devendra Ram, who was attached with the office of Commissioner Bareilly Division, has been suspended pending further inquiry, District Magistrate Nidhi Kesarwani yesterday said.
According to the District Magistrate, an Industrial Training Institute (ITI) was proposed to be set up in a Muslim majority village under Multi Sectoral Development Programme (MsDP) implemented by the Ministry of Minority Affairs.
The erring officer suggested to the state government that Gafoor Garhi village in Sikandrabad has a large population of Muslims and proposed it as a site for the institute.

A complaint was filed with the state government by Congress MLA from Syana, Dinawaz Khan, who said Gafoor Garhi village does not have a sizeable Muslim population and that the officer has misled the government, Kesarwani said.
The complaint was then referred to the minority welfare cell and an inquiry into the allegations is underway, she said.
Ten per cent of the Rs 2.25 crore has already been spent on raising the building in Gafoor Garhi, she added.