Uttarakhand: Assets 500 Times More Than Income Source, IAS Officer Suspended Then Arrested

Suspended by the Uttarakhand government in connection with the disproportionate assets case, IAS officer Ram Vilas Yadav has been arrested by the Uttarakhand vigilance department. Yadav was serving in the state as additional secretary in the social welfare department. Reports say that his suspension was ordered by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami himself.

CM Dhami led government had suspended Yadav for allegedly "amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income." Dhami instructed the state officers to take strict action against him on Wednesday (22 June). The state vigilance department is reported to have found that Yadav amassed wealth "nearly 550 times more than his known sources of income during the check period."

IPS officer Amit Sinha, director, the vigilance department is quoted as saying, “Ram Vilas Yadav was arrested on Wednesday night after a day-long questioning in the disproportionate assets case. He will be presented before the court on Thursday."

Yadav was scheduled to retire on 30 June. This report on the Jagran website says that Yadav had returned to his home cadre Uttarakhand in 2019 after a matter relating to his assets had surfaced while he was serving in Uttar Pradesh. His suspension and arrest is being seen as a big move from CM Dhami against corruption.