Akhilesh Yadav removes UP Chief Secretary Javed Usmani, appoints Alok Ranjan

Amid huge uproar over a string of heinous gang-rapes and crime against women in Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party government on Saturday ordered the removal of state Chief Secretary Javed Usmani, reports said. Alok Ranjan was likely to replace him, official sources said.

Zee Media Bureau/Hemant Abhishek
New Delhi: Amid huge uproar over a string of heinous gang-rapes and crime against women in Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party government on Saturday ordered the removal of state Chief Secretary Javed Usmani, reports said.
Alok Ranjan (inset) has replaced him, official sources said. Currently the agriculture production commissioner (APC), Alok Ranjan, soon after taking over as the state`s top bureaucrat, said that his first priority would be to motivate officials, and added, "I hope to fulfill my responsibilities diligently and deliver good leadership to the state."
Vowing to take strong action against law-breakers, Ranjan quipped, "Crime needs to be fought with, criminals need to know that their actions won’t be forgiven."
"Public service delivery needs to be improved, GDP, infrastructure and power need to be developed," added Ranjan. Javed Usmani, a 1978 batch officer who has been transferred from Uttar Pradesh is likely to get Central deputation. Made the chief secretary in 2012 soon after the Samajwadi Party (SP) formed the government in the state after a huge victory in the assembly polls, the suave Usmani however failed to inspire the bureaucracy and despite a two year stint, officials refused to deliver, leading to his falling from grace of the SP leadership in the state. Soon after a serious drubbing in the Lok Sabha polls where the SP`s tally of MPs fell from 22 to 5, Akhilesh Yadav had hinted at a major reshuffle in the bureaucracy. He also transferred Prabhat Mittal, director of information and public relations, late Friday signalling his ire at the department`s failure to brighten the image of the government and spread information about its welfare and developmental schemes. The Badaun incident, where two sisters from the dalit community were gang-raped and then hung from a tree, triggered protests in the area with villagers alleging police apathy, following which an FIR was registered against seven persons. The incident also led to a nationwide furore. Home Minister Rajnath Singh was yesterday briefed by officials on the incident. All the five main accused, including two policemen, have been arrested, police said. Earlier in the day, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi met the family members of the victims and demanded CBI probe into the matter. Moments after, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav agreed to order a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the horrific case. Gandhi said that the incident was "more gruesome" than December 16 gang-rape case and demanded a CBI probe adding that there should be nothing less than capital punishment for the culprits. The two victims, who were cousins and aged 14 and 15, went missing from their house on the night of May 27. Their bodies were found hanging from a mango tree in the village in Ushait area the next morning. Badaun is 300 km from Uttar Pradesh`s capital Lucknow.