Top IAS Officer Protests Release Of Bilkis Bano Rapists

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao's secretary Smita Sabharwal expressed shock and disbelief on Thursday over the rapists of Bilkis Bano being released from prison by the Gujarat government.

Joining those echoing their resentment over the release of the rapists, Sabharwal, a Telangana-cadre IAS officer of the 2001 batch, tweeted on Thursday, "As a woman and a civil servant I sit in disbelief, on reading the news on the #BilkisBanoCase. We cannot snuff out her Right to breathe free without fear, again and call ourselves a free nation. #JusticeForBilkisBano (sic)"

This caused ripples in the political and bureaucratic circles, as a serving senior officer came out in the open and expressed her views against the actions of another State government. While it might be the case that she did it more as a woman and an Indian than as a senior bureaucrat, it is well-known that there is a tradition - nay, unspoken rule - that exists among government servants, especially civil servants, that they keep their views on politics to themselves.