Lucknow:
Ravikant Singh, the District Magistrate who had cleared IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal in a report, has now been transferred.
Mr Singh recieved transfer orders even as speculation gained ground that the suspension of Ms Nagpal, 28, might be revoked after she met Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and presented he case.
Ms Nagpal had been suspended on the charge of ordering the demolition of the wall of a mosque under construction on government land in a Noida village during the holy month of Ramzan. The Uttar Pradesh government said it feared communal tension as a result of her alleged action.
Ravikant Singh, as the District Magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar and Ms Nagpal's boss, conducted an inquiry and concluded in his report to the Uttar Pradesh government that the wall was demolished by the villagers themselves and that no government machine was deployed to pull it down.
No official reason has been given for Mr Singh's transfer. It comes after villagers at Sorkha village in Sector 115 in Noida protested yesterday against a demolition drive in the area, pelting stones and setting a police vehicle on fire. Mr Singh had reached the site and pacified the mob.
The senior IAS officer has been waitlisted for his next assignment, while his successor has already been named.
Ms Nagpal, a 2009-batch officer was suspended as SDM of Gautam Buddh Nagar on July 27. Defying criticism, the Samajwadi Party asked the officer to respond to charges of poor administrative acumen and lack of foresight.
Ms Nagpal's reply, reportedly claiming innocence, came 10 days ago. But it was after her meeting with the Samajwadi Party chief that the state Home Secretary RN Srivastava was asked to review her case.
Ms Nagpal's suspension had led to widespread anger with even Congress president Sonia Gandhi writing to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking him to ensure she is not treated unfairly.