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Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Andaman and Nicobar Police on Thursday arrested senior IAS officer and former chief secretary of the Union Territory Jitendra Narain for his involvement in a gang rape case.
The move comes after a session court rejected his anticipatory bail plea earlier in the day. Sources saod that the 1990-batch Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre IAS officer was arrested from his home in Port Blair by the SIT which was instituted to probe the alleged gang-rape of a 21-year-old woman in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Narain was arrested days after the SIT grilled him for the third time earlier this month in connection with the case. On October 17, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) suspended Narain with "immediate effect" over the allegation of alleged sexual assault. The MHA had taken the action following orders of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and a day after the ministry received a report on October 16 from Andaman and Nicobar Police regarding the alleged sexual assault. The MHA then also ordered disciplinary proceedings against Narain and others involved in the crime. "The Central government is committed to ensuring zero tolerance towards the acts of indiscipline by its officials irrespective of their rank and status, especially with regard to incidents involving the dignity of women," Joint Secretary in MHA Ashutosh Agnihotri then told ANI. The Joint Secretary had said informed that an FIR was registered and active in the criminal case was being taken separately by the SIT (of Andaman and Nicobar Police. The SIT was constituted to probe the allegation of a 21-year-old woman in Andaman and Nicobar Islands that she was gang-raped by officials there including former Chief Secretary Jitendra Narain. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands Police registered a case in October on the complaint filed by the woman alleging that she was sexually abused by Jitendra Narain and others. The Aberdeen police station in Andaman and Nicobar Islands registered the case and a Special Investigation Team headed by a Senior Superintendent of Police was formed to probe the serious allegation against Narain, who is at present posted as the chairman and managing director of the Delhi Financial Corporation. The woman lodged the complaint with the police on August 21 in which she gave a detailed account of the alleged sexual attack on her twice -- in April and May -- and requested for preserving the CCTV footage of the then chief secretary's residence for evidence. (ANI)
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