State government suspends Khed SDO for indiscipline

The state government has suspended Khed sub-district collector Jogendra Katyare for making false allegations against district magistrate Dr Suhas Diwase regarding the conduct of the elections and for disobeying his superiors. The government order said he had committed indiscipline by writing a letter directly to the chief election commissioner against the district magistrate and Diwase.

Deputy Secretary Sanjeev Rane in his order stated that during the suspension, an inquiry was initiated against him and he was posted to the district office. The order further said that he would not be allowed to leave the headquarters without the permission of the District Collector Dr Diwase.

Katyare remains suspended from service under Section 8 of the Maharashtra Civil Services (Discipline and Appeals) Rules, 1979 and cannot engage in any private service during this period. Two days before the assembly elections, Katyare, the then Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) and Assistant Election Officer of Khed-Alandi, had written a letter to the EC making serious allegations against District Collector Suhas Diwase and accusing the top IAS officer of working under the influence of the Khed-Alandi MLA.