IAS officer, booked for abusing, attacking cops at Bengaluru pub, transferred

The IAS officer hurled expletives at cops.

VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh government cracked the whip on Kuppam Area Development Authority (KADA) Project Director Vikas Marmat after Bengaluru police registered a criminal case against him and three others following a pub brawl and the alleged abuse and attempted assault of police personnel on October 10.The 2019-batch IAS officer and his three associates — Abhay Uday Singh, a real estate businessman; Nitish, the owner of a competitive exam coaching centre in Bihar; and Roshan, a bouncer — were booked by Cubbon Park police for allegedly abusing and attempting to assault a team of police personnel, including police inspector Arun Salunke, at an upscale bar and restaurant on Residency Road in Bengaluru around 1.30am on October 10.

The IAS officer was named as the primary accused, while the others were listed as co-accused. Police said Marmat and the others apologised for their conduct the following morning.The incident took place when a Central Crime Branch team visited Cavore around 1.30am as part of a drive to check underage revelry at liquor outlets. The team was led by inspector Arun Salunke.During the inspection, a police officer asked a few young women to produce documents to establish their age.

According to the account of the incident, this angered Marmat and Singh, who allegedly began behaving tersely with the police.After a video of the incident went viral on social media platforms on Tuesday morning, the state government came under mounting pressure to initiate disciplinary action against the IAS officer. The pressure was particularly acute because Marmat serves as the project director of the urban development authority in Kuppam, the constituency represented by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.

After the chief minister directed the chief secretary to conduct a detailed inquiry and submit a report on the incident on October 13, the state government swiftly initiated disciplinary action against Marmat. He was transferred and directed to report to the General Administration Department (GAD) for further posting on Wednesday.

The state government also directed the Chittoor collector to make suitable arrangements for an in-charge project director at KADA.