New Delhi, Nov 04: The conduct of senior IAS officer D K Rao who allegedly harboured Sushil Sharma after the former Youth Congress leader killed his wife and attempted to burn her body in a Tandoor has attracted contempt of a Delhi court which said such officers lowering the esteem of their coveted post should "not be spared". "No officer of the IAS should allow such a coveted service to be lowered in the estimation of public. If one does, he should not be spared," additional sessions judge G P Thareja, who ordered prosecution of Rao while convicting Sharma yesterday, said in his order. "IAS officers should ensure that politicians who try to exploit their position as public servants by using extra constitutional influence are not encouraged in any manner," the judge said.
The judge had yesterday directed the chief metropolitan magistrate to prosecute Rao, the then Deputy Secretary of Gujarat government for allegedly giving shelter to Sharma at Gujarat Bhavan here after Sahni's murder on July 2, 1995. The court said it could not believe that Rao would not have had knowledge of Sharma's role in the crime while giving him shelter at the Gujarat Bhavan on the fateful night.
"Infact the circumstances suggest that an extra-judicial confession if at all was made by Sharma, it was made in the intervening night of July 2/3, 1995," the judge said referring to Rao's version that he came to know about the incident from Sharma only after the latter had fled Delhi.
Bureau Report