Resignation row Facing inquiry suspended Bareilly city magistrate claims 'well-planned conspiracy'

    Bareilly, Jan 27 (PTI) Bareilly City Magistrate Alankar Agnihotri, suspended by the state government on charges of indiscipline after his resignation in protest against government policies, especially the new UGC rules, sat on a dharna at the district magistrate's office on Tuesday, alleging a well-planned conspiracy against him.
    Agnihotri, whose suspension triggered a major administrative and political controversy in the state, has been attached to the office of the Shamli district magistrate, according to an order issued on Monday night.
    A 2019-batch Provincial Civil Service officer, Agnihotri tendered his resignation on Monday, citing deep disagreement with government policies, especially the new University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations, which, he claimed, could foment caste-based discontent and vitiate the academic environment.
    On Tuesday, Agnihotri stepped up his protest as he staged a sit-in outside the district magistrate's office with his supporters, raising slogans against the administration.
    Despite police deployment outside his official residence, Agnihotri and his supporters walked to the collectorate, alleging that a well-planned conspiracy had been hatched against him.
    He also reiterated his claim that attempts were made to detain him at Bareilly District Magistrate Avinash Singh's residence on Monday night, an allegation which the district administration termed baseless.
    Agnihotri said he would approach the high court, and if required, take the matter to the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, police have closed the main gate of the ADM compound at the city magistrate's residence.
    On Tuesday, Additional District Magistrates Poornima Singh (Enforcement), Saurav Dubey (City), and Desh Deepak Singh (Judicial), along with SDM (Sadar) Pramod Kumar, and SP (Rural), reached the protest site.
    The officials sought to resolve the issue through dialogue and assured the protesters that their concerns would be conveyed to the government, but no consensus could be reached.
    During the discussions, Agnihotri remained firm on his demands, stating that he would not call off the protest until the district magistrate personally arrived and clarified for whom the alleged offensive language was used during a phone call.
    The situation briefly turned tense when Agnihotri asked the officials if they had come to arrest him. The officials, however, managed to calm tempers and continued the talks.
    Agnihotri alleged that after tendering his resignation on Monday, he was called to the district magistrate's residence under the pretext of talks, where he was detained. He claimed that a phone call from Lucknow to the district magistrate contained abusive language directed at him, and that instructions to detain him were given during that call.
    Denying the allegation, ADM Dubey said Agnihotri had come to the district magistrate's residence for talks, which were held in a very cordial atmosphere, and that he was not detained in any manner.
    ADM Singh said no abusive language was used, adding that all senior administrative officers of Bareilly, including the four ADMs, the Senior Superintendent of Police, and CO (LIU), were present during the meeting.
    Terming the accusation of detention "completely baseless", Singh said the staff deployed at the district magistrate's residence had also denied any such incident.
    District Magistrate Singh separately rejected the allegations, saying the interaction was voluntary and no pressure was exerted.
    On Tuesday evening, SP (Rural) Mukesh Chand Mishra also held talks with Agnihotri, but no breakthrough was achieved till late at night.
    In view of support from various organisations and the swelling crowd at the protest site, the administration stepped up security and deployed additional police personnel as a precautionary measure.
    Meanwhile, the suspension against Agnihotri has been pasted at his official residence.
    Aghinotri sent his resignation e-mail to Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and the Bareilly district magistrate Singh on Monday, officials said.
    According to his suspension order issued by Special Secretary Annapurna Garg on Monday night, Agnihotri was found prima facie guilty of indiscipline and was placed under suspension with immediate effect.
    Disciplinary proceedings have been initiated against Agnihotri, with Bareilly Divisional Commissioner B S Chaudhary as the ex officio inquiry officer to probe the charges against him, it added.
    It also said that a separate chargesheet will be issued as part of the department action and that Agnihotri will remain attached to the Shamli district magistrate's office during the pendency of the inquiry.
    In his resignation statement, Agnihotri described the new UGC regulations as a black law. He alleged that the rules were harming the academic atmosphere in colleges and universities and demanded their immediate withdrawal.
    The UGC regulations published on January 13 to curb caste-based discrimination in higher educational institutions mandate the setting up of special committees, helplines and monitoring teams to address complaints, particularly from SC, ST and OBC students.
    In a strongly worded and emotional statement accompanying his resignation, Agnihotri also levelled serious allegations against the system and attacked the Centre on issues including the alleged insult of the Brahmin community and an incident related to the recent Magh Mela in Prayagraj.
    He also called upon the elected representatives from the Brahmin community at the Centre and the state to resign from their posts and stand with the community, claiming that the general category was increasingly distancing itself from both governments.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)