Rinku Dugga, an IAS officer who was in the news in May last year for walking her dog inside the Thyagaraj Stadium in Delhi, has been compulsorily retired. She had been transferred to Arunahcal Pradesh while her husband Sanjeev Khirwar, who is also an IAS officer, was sent to Ladakh following a news report that the couple asked athletes to empty the stadium so that they could walk their dog.
According to sources, the central government has retired Dugga compulsorily under the Fundamental Rules (FR) 56(j), Rule 48 of Central Civil Services (CCS) Pension Rules, 1972, after an assessment of her service record. The Centre has the right to retire any government servant “if it is of the opinion that it is in the public interest to do so”, sources said.
A report in News18 Hindi quoted a senior central government official as saying: “In view of Rinku Dugga’s track record, she has been given compulsory retirement. A notification related to this has also been issued.”
Who is Rinku Dugga?
Dugga, 54, was posted as principal secretary of indigenous affairs in serving in Arunahchal Pradesh. She is a 1994-batch AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory) cadre officer. Khirwar, too, is a 1994-batch IAS officer and currently posted in Ladakh.
The officer has been given compulsory retirement under Rule 56(J) of the Central Civil Services (Pension), 1972, which states that the government can give compulsory retirement to any government employee in public interest. It also states that if a government employee’s track record is not satisfactory, or there are allegations of corruption and irregularities in their work, such an employee is reviewed every three months.
Dugga will be get three months’ salary and allowances on her compulsory retirement.
Why did the IAS couple make headlines?
In May 2022, Dugga and Khirwar were accused of removing coaches and athletes at Thyagaraj Stadium in Delhi so that they could walk their dog there at 7 pm. The couple would often harass athletes and coaches training at the stadium, and walk their dog on the track built for athletes, as per reports. A report in The Indian Express said the officers would force athletes to finish their training so that they could use the track for their dog’s evening walk.
The couple, however, had called the allegations baseless and said they walked their dog at the stadium only after it was closed, and the dog had never been unleashed on the track.
The news report had triggered massive public outrage.
(With PTI inputs)
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