BAREILLY: Rinku Singh Rahi, a 2022-batch IAS officer and survivor of a near-fatal 2009 shooting, was transferred from his post as SDM of Powayan in Shahjahanpur just 36 hours after taking charge. The abrupt move came hours after a video of him performing sit-ups in public went viral — a gesture meant to take accountability for poor sanitation in government offices.
The viral clip shows Rahi doing uthak-baithak (sit-ups) in front of a group of lawyers after he had earlier reprimanded a clerk for urinating in the open. “I was the senior-most officer present. If seniors lead by example, systems improve,” Rahi told reporters. He acknowledged that the video may have prompted his sudden transfer: “Could be.”
Shahjahanpur district magistrate Dharmendra Pratap Singh, however, distanced himself from the decision, stating, “Rahi’s transfer was initiated by the state government. I have no information about the reasons.”
Exposing Irregularities, Canceling Auctions
The transfer also came shortly after Rahi canceled two local land auctions involving fish ponds and cattle shed properties in Simra Viran village. The auctions had not been publicly announced, a procedural lapse that Rahi said could limit fair competition. “More people deserve the chance to participate. My decision may have upset some quarters,” he noted.
He had also warned that if responsible officials (lekhpals) failed to explain the lapse within 15 days, FIRs would be filed.
Bold Plans for Transparency
In his short tenure, Rahi had initiated plans to digitize tehsil-level records, including court proceedings and document submissions. “People shouldn’t have to file RTIs just to access basic information,” he said.
He also proposed creating two WhatsApp groups in every village — one for reporting absentee officials and another for filing complaints and tracking their redressal. “I had already implemented this in Mathura as a PCS officer. This isn’t innovation, it’s basic administration,” he emphasized.
No Stranger to Backlash
Rahi’s administrative style and outspoken stance on corruption have made him a target before. In 2008, as a provincial civil service (PCS) officer in Muzaffarnagar, he uncovered a ₹100-crore scam in the social welfare department. After refusing bribes and continuing to dig, he was shot in the face in March 2009 while playing badminton — seven bullets were fired; one lodged in his skull, blinding him in one eye.
“I lost everything except the will to fight,” he recalled.
Denied promotion in the years that followed, he staged a sit-in protest outside the social welfare directorate in Lucknow in 2012. The protest ended with him being forcibly admitted to a psychiatric hospital.
Beating the Odds, Joining IAS
A decade later, at age 40, Rahi cleared the UPSC civil services exam under the Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) quota, securing an all-India rank of 683. He joined the 2022 IAS batch under the UP cadre.
His stint in Shahjahanpur — barely two days long — was perhaps his briefest, but it showcased his commitment to clean, transparent governance. “I will serve wherever I am posted,” he said. “But I won’t tolerate wrongdoing.”
