UP IAS officer asks Yogi government to pay him only half of his salary. who is that | Today’s news

An Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer posted to Uttar Pradesh has questioned the state’s administrative work culture, transparency and accountability mechanisms and demanded to be paid only half of his salary on the grounds that he has only about four hours of effective work every day, news agency PTI reported.

In a four-page letter written on July 15 and addressed to the Principal Secretary, Appointments and Personnel Department, officer Rinku Singh Rahi sought an assessment of his suitability for the state’s administrative system.

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Rahi alleged that he was transferred from the post of SDM, Jalaun to SDM (Judicial) in a hurry even before the committee set up to probe the dispute submitted its report. He appealed to the department to review his transfer and allow him to continue in his current assignment pending a final decision.

Rahi said if found suitable, he should be assigned duties at par with other officers of his group. Otherwise, the government should consider transferring him to another state cadre as per the rules.

During his broadcast in Jalaun, Rahi claimed to have created WhatsApp groups for each gram panchayat and urban locality, connecting citizens, officials and government employees to create a real-time evidence-based social audit system.

The mechanism, he said, enabled monitoring of attendance and functioning of field staff, including village secretaries, lekhpals and sanitarians, while residents also shared evidence of alleged irregularities and corruption.

The officer alleged that several key categories of public information, including attendance records of field workers, lists of beneficiaries, details of MGNREGA works, lists of government land encroachments, detailed project reports and tender-related documents, were not made public despite his repeated requests to senior officials for transparency.

He further claimed that he faced pressure and controversy while investigating related cases illegal interventionsillegal mining and public complaints.

The IAS officer also alleged that attempts were made to force him to accept false reports of disposing of the complaint, though he continued to act in accordance with the rules.

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Rahi, who is currently posted as Sub-Divisional Judge (Judicial), said that he has only about four hours of effective work every day. Based on this, he requested to be paid only half of his wages from July 22, saying that he believes in the ethical principle of “equal pay for equal work” and does not consider it appropriate to draw full wages without adequate work.

The officer also commented on the grievance redressal system at the District Magistrate, saying that mere redressal of grievances is not enough and the aim should be to hold the officials concerned accountable and ensure a permanent solution.

The allegations in the letter are Rahi’s personal claims and have not been independently verified.

Before that, he courted controversy

Rahi is an Indian whistleblower and a 2023-batch IAS officer of the UP cadre. He often courted controversy in Uttar Pradesh due to his aggressive whistleblowing and defiance.

Rahi had previously expressed similar concerns about his service conditions. In March this year, he wrote three letters to the government demanding what he called a “technical resignation”, saying he had full confidence in the system but was not getting meaningful work.

In July 2025, the officer was transferred and attached to the UP Revenue Board after a video purportedly showing him doing sit-ups amid a lawyers’ protest in Shahjahanpur went viral on social media.

Before cracking the UPSC exam, Rahi was a provincial civil service officer in the social welfare department in Muzaffarnagar, where he was almost killed after being shot multiple times by assailants while arresting a major fraud in his department.

In 2009, Rahi was serving as a Provincial Civil Service (PCS) officer, specifically working as a District Welfare Officer in Muzaffarnagar, when he was shot seven times after uncovering a multi-crore scholarship scam. Miraculously, he survived, although he suffered severe facial damage and lost the sight in one eye.

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Later, as SDM Shahjahanpur, a viral video showed him performing public sit-ups to quell a protest by lawyers over hygiene, leading to his temporary suspension.

I believe in the ethical principle of “equal pay for equal work” and I do not consider it appropriate to draw a full salary without corresponding work.

He was recently in the news after he offered a “technical resignation” to the President of India due to “lack of meaningful work” after which he was sent to his current post.