PATNA: In an anti-climax of sorts of the ongoing tussle between the Bihar government and the state bureaucracy over the arrest of an IAS official, the state IAS officials have clarified to the state government that they never made any accusation against the government.The trouble began after the arrest of Bihar Staff Selection Commission (BSSC) chairman Sudhir Kumar on February 24. A 1987-batch bureaucrat, Sudhir is accused of leaking questions meant for BSSC’s competitive examinations for recruitment of 13,120 clerks in government departments. He has since been suspended.Two days after the arrest, the Bihar chapter of IAS Officers’ Association (IASOA) held a meeting and called on governor Ram Nath Kovind on February 26 to submit a memorandum demanding, among other things, a CBI probe into the question leak.While a five-member delegation interacted with the governor, 50-odd IAS officers, including DMs, stood outside the Raj Bhawan in the shape of a human chain.Anti-government statements purported to have been made by anonymous association functionaries flooded the media, apparently getting the government’s goat. A visibly upset CM Nitish Kumar told the state legislature on February 28 that exemplary action would be taken on the IASOA stir which, he said, would prove a “milestone” in governance. The show-cause notices to the DMs followed.Sources said the DMs have explained in writing that they did not form any human chain at the Raj Bhawan. They were just waiting for their association’s functionaries to come out after submitting a memorandum to the governor, they said in individual replies to the state GAD (general administration department).The GAD had asked them on whose permission had they left their HQ to join the protests in Patna. It could not be known immediately whether the DMs furnished reply to this specific query as several DMs refused to talk to TOI saying the matter was sensitive. An IASOA functionary, however, claimed most of the DMs had taken permission from their superiors concerned.The government also did correspondence with the Bihar IASOA, asking it to officially state its stand on the issue. “In our reply, we have admitted we held a meeting as Sudhir is an association member. However, we have clarified that we are not making any allegation against the state government for the arrest as there are serious charges against him. Our only concern was the manner in which he was arrested,” said an IASOA office-bearer on Tuesday.

Stay updated with all the Latest Patna headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.