A review meeting turned into a shouting match when a senior IAS officer in Jammu and Kashmir allegedly abused a woman colleague and told her, “I am your boss.”
A video purportedly showing the exchange has drawn outrage on social media, with the woman officer confirming the incident and rejecting suggestions that the recording was fabricated.
Kumar Rajeev Ranjan, Secretary of the Labour and Employment Department, is purportedly heard using a sexist slur against JKAS officer Beenish Wani, Assistant Director, Employment.
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The exchange reportedly took place during a review meeting of Mission YUVA. In the circulating clip, Ranjan appears to lose his temper while addressing Wani.
Wani said she had attended the virtual meeting from home despite being on leave with a fractured foot.
She in some reports said the incident took place and said the video was neither morphed nor AI-generated.
“Dignity of a woman should be protected. No one can treat us like that,” she said.
Contacted about the exchange, Ranjan said he was sorry if he had said something in the heat of the moment. He alleged that Wani continued to provoke him despite repeated instructions to remain quiet.
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“If we will not even question officers, then how will we hold review meetings and fix responsibility?” he asked.
Ranjan also accused Wani of using the words “hell with you” during the argument.
“Tell me, in such a situation, how will the hierarchy function when a junior officer starts using such language for you?” he said.
He urged people to watch the full recording of the hour-long meeting before drawing conclusions from the circulating excerpts.
The Labour and Employment Department subsequently issued a clarification expressing regret over the developments and raising concerns about what it described as selectively edited clips of an internal meeting.
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The department called the circulating clips “unverified” and said excerpts shared without the complete context could give a misleading impression of the proceedings.
Its statement stressed that mutual respect, discipline and professional decorum were essential in official interactions. It also said officers and officials were expected to show due respect to their seniors while carrying out their duties.
Provocative remarks and inappropriate language had no place in administrative engagements, the department said, adding that such interactions must be guided by restraint and institutional dignity.
The department said the matter would be taken to its logical conclusion under the applicable rules and regulations.
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