The officer has been identified as Kumar Rajeev Ranjan, Secretary of the Labour & Employment Department in Jammu and Kashmir. The woman officer is Beenish Wani, an Assistant Director, Employment, in the JKAS.
According to sources, the incident occurred during a review meeting of Mission YUVA, convened to assess progress under the flagship national rural mission, the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM).
In the video circulating on social media, Ranjan can allegedly be heard losing his temper and shouting at Wani. He is purportedly heard using the words "b*y s" and asserting, "I am your boss."
When contacted, Wani confirmed that the incident had taken place and clarified that the video was neither morphed nor AI-generated. She said she had attended the meeting virtually from home despite being on leave because of a fracture in her foot.
"Dignity of a woman should be protected. No one can treat us like that," Wani said.
Ranjan, when contacted, expressed regret, saying he was sorry if he had said something in the heat of the moment. However, he claimed that despite repeatedly asking Wani to keep quiet, she continued to provoke him.
"If we will not even question officers, then how will we hold review meetings and fix responsibility?" he asked.
Ranjan also alleged that Wani had used words such as "hell with you" during the exchange. Questioning how administrative hierarchy could function under such circumstances, he said, "Tell me, in such a situation, how will the hierarchy function when a junior officer starts using such language for you?"
He further urged people not to draw conclusions based on the circulating clips alone. "To understand the full context of the heated argument, please go through the entire video of the one-hour meeting before jumping to any conclusion," Ranjan said.
Following the controversy, the Department of Labour and Employment, Jammu and Kashmir, issued a clarification regarding the video clips being circulated on social media.
The department reiterated that mutual respect, discipline and professional decorum are essential during official interactions. It stated that all officers and officials are expected to maintain due respect towards their seniors while discharging their official duties.
It also emphasised that provocative remarks and inappropriate language have no place in professional administrative engagements, which must be guided by mutual respect, restraint and institutional dignity.
Expressing regret over the developments surrounding the meeting, the department raised concerns over the circulation of selectively edited video clips by certain social media handles without the complete context of the proceedings. It maintained that the clips being circulated were unverified and warned that selective editing of internal administrative discussions could create a misleading impression of what had transpired during the meeting.
The department further stated that the matter would be taken to its logical conclusion in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations.
The controversy has brought the conduct of senior officials during official interactions into focus, with the department emphasising professional discipline and institutional dignity while indicating that the matter would be addressed under the applicable rules and regulations.
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