The Kerala goverment has suspended two IAS officers over indiscipline. This comes following a report submitted by state Chief Secretary Sarada Muraleedharan.
Agriculture Development and Farmers' Welfare Department Special Secretary N Prasanth, who is popularly known as Collector bro in Kerala media and social networks, was one of the suspended officials.
The other officer was identified as Industries and Commerce Director K Gopalakrishnan, who is a 2013 batch officer.
Who is Kerala's' Collector bro'?
Social media savvy N Prasanth got his moniker 'Collector bro' during his stint as Kozhikode District Collector. He was instrumental in creating programs like Compassionate Kozhikode, a mental health initiative with the help of volunteers. Another initiative, Operation Sulaimani, brought the hotels and restaurants in Kozhikode together to provide meals to hungry people.
During the 2018 floods, when he was the deputy secretary in the Union ministry of new and renewable energy, he set up a Facebook group called 'Flood Technology Support Kerala 2018' and several WhatsApp groups with the help of techies to rescue stranded people.
Why was 'Collector bro' suspended?
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan suspended Prasanth for criticising a senior IAS officer on social media following the report submitted by the chief secretary. The officer recently alleged that Additional Chief Secretary A Jayathilak has become a "special reporter" and have been "orchestrating baseless" news reports to defame him.
Pointing out that he is compelled to share some important facts about Jayathilak, Prasanth said he generally avoids discussing government matters in public. He added that his intention was to reveal only issues that the public should know as per the Right to Information.
This came after a media report claimed that several files from SC/ST welfare scheme Unnathi went missing during his tenure as its CEO.
On the other hand, Gopalakrishnan was suspended over creation of religion-based WhatsApp groups.