By Express News Service BENGALURU: Within three days of assuming office, BDA Commissioner Dr G C Prakash has placed three BDA employees of Jayanagar office under suspension for consuming liquor, smoking and playing cigarettes during duty hours within the office premises. A video of them indulging in these activities was shot by a BDA security staffer and circulated on WhatsApp among staffers. Assistant Engineers, Shankaramuthy and M D Naryanaswamy, who are on deputation from the Public Works Department and Draftsman Muralidhar, a permanent BDA employee were suspended from Thursday.The trio are Engineering graduates and fall under Class-II category. According to an official release, the footage was also aired on Kannada TV channels and has damaged the reputation of the department. The charges against the three are dereliction of duty, misconduct and illegal activity under the Karnataka Civil Services Rules 1957 (Clarification, Regulation and Appeal). Dr Prakash told The New Indian Express, “I got to see the footage on my own last night and decided to suspend them immediately. An office should be treated like a temple. It is a criminal offence to behave like this within one’s office premises, whether during duty hours or off duty hours.” An inquiry has been ordered against the three. “If found guilty, the staffers deputed from PWD will be suspended and sent back to their parent department while our own employee will be dismissed,” he said. The Commissioner had on Wednesday expressed his dismay at the work culture prevalent at BDA on Wednesday and ordered installation of nearly 60 CCTV cameras and a biometric attendance system for keeping tab on the timings put in at work by all staffers. “The installation of biometric systems began on Thursday morning and are expected to be implemented to mark attendance from Friday,” he added.

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