An IAS officers' body today expressed "anger" over the arrest of senior IAS officer Sudhir Kumar and said that it would fight "tooth and nail" against the move calling him as "the most honest, sincere and competent officer".
The Bihar branch of IAS officers' Association demanded that the case be transferred to the CBI in the interest of independent inquiry, equity, justice and fair play.
"The Association is deeply anguished and angered by the manner in which the SIT has arrested the officer... Kumar is one of the finest officers of the cadre and the Association stands by the credentials of the officer," it said in a statement.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the multi-crore employment scam in Bihar has arrested Kumar, the chairman of the Bihar Staff Selection Commission (BSCC), from Hazaribagh in Jharkhand on February 24 for allegedly playing a key role in the scam.
The Association has resolved that none of its member would accept posts of chairman of BSCC and other such posts and would not take verbal instruction from higher office including the Chief Minister's Office, unless given in writing.
"Kumar has all along been cooperating with the
investigation and therefore, the arrest is absolutely unwarranted...There are many unanswered questions and gaping holes in the theories propounded against Kumar.
"It is universally known, and has been reported in several newspapers too, that Kumar was arrested from Hazaribagh at late night on February 23, whereas the memo of arrest shows veterinary college campus as the place of arrest on February 24," the Association said.
"The Association seeks the immediate release of Kumar by the state government. It resolves that, although its members shall not immediately stop performing their duties, however, as a mark of solidarity with Kumar, its members shall wear black arm bands till resolution of its demands in full," it said.
