Two Kerala IAS Officers, Including ‘Collector Bro,’ Suspended Over Indiscipline

Kerala government led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan suspends two IAS officers for disciplinary reasons; the two suspended officers include K Gopalakrishnan, Director of Industries and Commerce, and N Prashanth, Special Secretary in the Agriculture Development and Farmers’ Welfare department.

This suspension follows a report given by Chief Secretary Sarada Muraleedharan. Gopalakrishnan, a 2013-batch officer, had created the “Mallu Hindu Officers” WhatsApp group last month. When the controversy cropped up, he claimed that his phone had been hacked but forensic examinations disproved this, revealing that the phone had actually been reset.

N Prashanth, a 2007-batch officer was suspended for calling out Additional Chief Secretary A Jayathilak in public for propagating false reports against him. He termed Jayathilak as a “psychopath” after a report in the press that files relating to the ‘Unnathi’ welfare scheme had disappeared during his tenure, and which has been criticized by his smothering internet base or “Collector Bro”. Prashanth refuted the allegations and defended his right to criticize individuals, not government policy.

This is a new experience for me. Criticising the government or its policies is wrong and action can be taken. I don’t think anyone will be of the opinion that I have done anything like that. My criticism was aimed at certain individuals’ inappropriate tendencies, particularly regarding fabricated reports. Evidence has also come to light regarding this. I trust that creating fake reports is not a government policy, but if criticising such actions leads to consequences, that’s news to me.” Prashanth was shocked at the act.

He also pointed out his belief in the constitutional right to freedom of expression, saying, “I am unaware of any boundary I may have crossed within this right. Let’s see the order, and then I will consider my next step. I was not born with a sole ambition of being an IAS officer. I have other interests and pursuits.”