Rinku Singh Rahi, a 2023-batch IAS officer of the UP cadre, has sent a representation to the President offering a “technical resignation” and seeking “repatriation” to his earlier service, alleging that he has been kept away from field work for long.

In a seven-page letter dated March 26, Rahi, currently attached to the Board of Revenue in Lucknow, claimed the prevailing administrative ecosystem resists reforms and expressed concern that being kept away from meaningful field exposure during early IAS years hampers administrative learning and effectiveness.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Rahi said his move is “not him quitting the system”, or one driven by anger and impulse, or against any individual, but an attempt to work within it without compromising on values.

“I am not quitting the system; I am not someone who runs away showing their back. The government system is good, but it has shortcomings which can be corrected. This is a technical resignation, not of my own volition… the government should decide what kind of work it wants from me. I want to continue serving while remaining within the system itself, but under constitutional values,” Rahi said.

According to the Department of Personnel and Training website, regarding technical resignation, it stated that “the resignation is treated as a technical formality where a government servant has applied through proper channel for a post in the same or some other Department, and is on selection, required to resign the previous post for administrative reasons”.

The officer, meanwhile, is no stranger to the limelight.

Before his selection in the civil services under the Persons with Disabilities (PwD) quota, Rahi was in the Provincial Civil Service (PCS), from the 2004 batch. He was posted as Social Welfare Officer, when he alleged a multi-crore scam in the social welfare department in Muzaffarnagar that led to him nearly being killed in 2009 after he was shot multiple times.

In July 2025, on the first day of his posting as an IAS officer in Shahjahanpur, a video surfaced online purportedly showing him doing sit-ups holding his ears during a protest by lawyers. The UP government then transferred him to the Board of Revenue in Lucknow.

Speaking about the Shahjahanpur incident, Rahi defended his actions, saying they were aimed at ensuring accountability. “Vakilon ko aam janta ki tarah treat kiya… main aaj bhi apne stand par kayam hoon (I treated lawyers like ordinary citizens… I still stand by my position today),” he said.

“Main naukar banne aaya hoon, malik banne nahi (I have come to be a servant, not to become a master),” he added.

In his letter to the President, he mentioned multiple incidents from his field training and earlier state service, claiming that attempts to enforce transparency and accountability led to resistance and administrative isolation.

He pointed out that after his appointment in July 2025, he was sent for district training in Shahjahanpur. He states that on the first day, he intervened in a public issue and pushed for corrective action. He alleged this led to discomfort and that without a detailed hearing, he was held at fault and attached to the Revenue Board.

Referring to his earlier posting as a District Social Welfare Officer, he alleged that efforts to bring transparency in schemes led to serious threats from vested interests. Subsequently, he claimed, he was attacked.

He further alleged that after these events, he was kept in roles with limited authority.