Ex-Chief Secy Andaman & Nicobar at epicentre of job-for-sex racket

Chennai, Oct 27 (IANS) Senior IAS officer and former Chief Secretary of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Jitendra Narain is at the epicentre of a sexual allegation in which 20 women were allegedly taken to his Port Blair residence in a job-for-sex racket. Some of the allegedly sexually exploited women were provided with government jobs.

The sexual allegation had come into the open after a 20-year-old woman alleged that the former Chief Secretary Jitendra Narain and the then Labour commissioner of Andaman and Nicobar Islands R.L. Rishi sexually exploited her and was subjected to gang-rape.

The woman had alleged that she was introduced to Labour commissioner Rishi through a known person and was taken to the residence of the then Chief Secretary Narain.

The woman in her complaint alleged that she was offered alcohol at Narain's residence and when she declined it she was forcibly raped and sexually assaulted by the Chief Secretary and the Labour Commissioner.

There were reports that the Call Data Records (CDR)s of the two bureaucrats and of the 20-year-old matched with the time of sexual assault as complained by her. The tower location of the woman and two senior officers matched her allegation.

It was also alleged that the hard disk of the CCTV camera at the Chief Secretary's residence was erased and the Digital Video Recorder was also removed from the residence while he was transferred from Port Blair to New Delhi.

The former Chief Secretary was later suspended by the Union Home Ministry after reports came out on his sexual forays.

The former Chief Secretary is scheduled to appear before the Special Investigation Team on October 28, Friday.

Jitendra Narain had written to the Union Home Ministry and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands that a conspiracy was against him and that he had proof to demonstrate the fake nature of the case.

Narain was suspended from the service on October 17 and is currently on interim bail till November 14. His accomplice, the former Labour Commissioner of the Andaman and Nicobar administration, has also been placed under suspension.