Disciplinary action: Khed’s deputy tax collector Jogendra Katyare suspended

Pune: The state government has suspended Jogendra Katyare, the deputy election collector of Khed, for breaching official discipline by complaining about District Collector Dr Suhas Divase in a direct letter to the Chief Election Commissioner.

This action, which tarnished the image of the state government, led to suspension. During this period, an intra-departmental inquiry will be conducted and Katyare’s headquarters will be the office of the District Collector. He will not be allowed to leave the headquarters without prior permission of the District Collector against whom he has filed the complaint.

Katyare circumvented the required protocols when filing his complaint against his superiors. The state government considered this inadmissible and sent him a request for a statement.

He was given seven days to respond to the notice. Since he had not followed the official procedures, the state government decided to suspend him. The suspension order was issued by Deputy Secretary Sanjeev Rane on behalf of the Governor.

Katyare is accused of confusing administrative work with electoral conduct during the election period and making baseless accusations by writing directly to the Election Commission and the Chief Election Officer. This action was considered a breach of official discipline and damaging to the government’s reputation.

As a result, a departmental inquiry was initiated under Rule 8 of the Maharashtra Civil Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1979 and Katyare was suspended for the duration of the inquiry.

He will remain stationed in the district collector’s office and will not be able to leave without prior permission. He will also be prohibited from engaging in any private employment during this period.

Katyare had previously called for Divase’s transfer before the vote count, citing alleged political connections and psychological harassment by Divase.

The state government took the matter seriously and instructed District Commissioner Dr Chandrakant Pulkundwar to investigate the matter and submit a report. Following Pulkundwar’s report, the state government issued a suspension notice to Kattyare.