Srinagar: Senior IAS officer Kumar Rajeev Ranjan has courted controversy after allegedly using abusive language against a junior woman officer and threatening to recommend her dismissal from service during a review meeting on Mission YUVA in Jammu and Kashmir.
As per a video available with The News Now, Ranjan, a 2010-batch IAS officer serving as Administrative Secretary, Labour and Employment, is heard engaging in a heated exchange with Beenish Wani, a 2015-batch JKAS officer and Assistant Director at the Employment and Counselling Centre, Ganderbal.
The confrontation reportedly took place while Wani was briefing the meeting through video conferencing on the targets achieved by her office and the role of the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) in supporting the work.
During the exchange, Ranjan questions why NRLM was being involved in work assigned to the Assistant Director, arguing that the responsibilities should be handled through the designated administrative channel.
“Why do you need NRLM? If NRLM had to do this work, why would I give it to AD? Why would the CS give it to me? He would give it to MD NRLM,” he is heard saying.
Wani attempts to explain that NRLM was being used as a supporting agency. However, the discussion escalates as Ranjan repeatedly interrupts her and allegedly tells her to “shut up” and stop speaking.
When Wani insists that she needs an opportunity to explain her position, the IAS officer is heard using the phrase “bloody shit” and saying, “I am your boss, stupid.”
Wani objects to the language, telling him that he cannot call her “shit”. The exchange then takes a more serious turn, with Ranjan directing another woman officer present in the room to prepare a suspension order against Wani.
“It is fine, you can suspend,” Wani is heard responding.
Ranjan subsequently asks that Wani’s remarks be recorded and that the General Administration Department (GAD) be approached regarding her removal from service.
“Record this and write to the GAD how she should be thrown out of the service,” he is heard saying.
The video captures the disagreement over work allocation, performance and accountability under Mission YUVA, alongside the increasingly confrontational exchange between the two officers.
The incident has brought the conduct of senior officials during administrative review meetings into focus, particularly the use of allegedly abusive language and threats of disciplinary action while a junior officer is attempting to present her explanation.
Ranjan and Wani were reported to be unavailable for comment. Their responses could not be independently obtained for this report.
Ranjan has also figured in investigations concerning alleged irregularities in the issuance of arms licences to non-residents in Jammu and Kashmir.
Reports have previously linked him to the CBI’s probe into the arms licence case and to a disproportionate-assets case registered against him and family members.
Meanwhile, The All J&K Junior Scale KAS Association (AJJSKA) condemned the alleged abuse of Beenish Wani, demanding an impartial inquiry, a public apology from Kumar Rajeev Ranjan and protection against retaliatory action.
In a statement, the association said accountability cannot justify abusive language or intimidation. It also called for an independent technical examination of the video and action against the officer concerned.
AJJSKA urged the Lieutenant Governor, Chief Secretary and General Administration Department to intervene, warning of a pen-down strike and legal action if corrective measures are not taken.
Later in the evening, the Labour and Employment Department issued a clarification, describing the video clips circulating on social media as “unverified” and cautioning that selective editing could create a misleading impression of the proceedings. The department said the complete recording of the October 14 review meeting was available with the National Informatics Centre (NIC) and that the matter would be taken to its logical conclusion under applicable rules and regulations.
