Hours after a news report regarding misuse of facilities at Delhi Tyagaraja Stadium by IAS Sanjeev Khirwar and his wife Rinku Dugga, the Home Ministry has acted against the duo. The ministry has transferred Sanjeev Khirwar and Rinku Dugga, both IAS officers of AGMUT cadre. Khirwar has been transferred from Delhi to Ladakh and Dugga to Arunachal Pradesh.
According to report, Government-run Thyagraj Stadium was being closed for sports activities earlier than usual so that the bureaucrat could walk his dog at the facility.
In an order, the Home Ministry said Sanjeev Khirwar, a 1994-batch IAS officer, has been shifted to Ladakh and his wife to Arunachal Pradesh with immediate effect. Sanjeev Khirwar is currently posted as Principal Secretary (Revenue) in Delhi.
Athletes and coaches at the Thyagaraj Stadium in Delhi were upset for some time as they were being ordered to vacate the stadium so that the IAS officer’s dogs could walk there. When the same news came out in the media on Thursday, it started getting gritty everywhere. After this news came out, the Delhi government also became strict. The Delhi government issued an order saying that now every stadium in Delhi will be open for practice till 10 pm. But now the Ministry of Home Affairs, taking strict steps, has transferred both the officers.
After this news came to the fore, IAS Khirwar said that I will never ask an athlete to leave the stadium. I go after the stadium is closed… we don’t leave the dog on the track. We leave when no one is around but never at the expense of an athlete. If there is anything objectionable in it, I will stop it.
While, the chief secretary submitted a report to the Home Ministry on Thursday evening, prompting the ministry to order their transfer.
Yesterday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal directed all state-run facilities to stay open for sportsperson till 10 pm. “It has come to my notice that sportspersons are facing problems because of the heat and the stadiums get closed by 6 or 7 pm. We are issuing instructions that all sports facilities should remain open till 10 pm so that sportspersons can use them,” Mr Kejriwal said.
On this controversy, Former IAS Officer Sanjeev Gupta wrote on social media. He said, “Sanjeev Khirwar & Rinku have been transferred by MHA, GoI to Laddakh and Arunachal respectively as a fallout of SM outrage over ‘dog on the track’. It was wrong to choose a stadium for walking after closing hours. Were the athletes asked to vacate due to their stroll? Perhaps notWhat IAS couple of 1994 batch did was absurd – both place & time. But were the athletes ousted to facilitate their walk? Unlikely due to what stadium incharge said in the same news story. But acts of some officers tarnish image of IAS so much that people believe in everything.”
