Shot in face in 2008, visually impaired UP officer cracks UPSC

MEERUT: An Uttar Pradesh civil service officer who partially lost his sight and hearing after sustaining seven bullet injuries in an attack after he exposed an alleged Rs 100-crore scholarship scam has finally cracked the UPSC exam. In the Union Public Service Commission examination 2021, Rinko Rahee, who cannot see well from one eye, has lost hearing in one ear and has a broken jaw, secured the 683rd rank.

The 40-year-old Provincial Civil Service (PCS) officer was attacked when he was posted as a social welfare officer in Muzaffarnagar. He said the attack was due to the alleged scholarship scam he exposed. Since then, Rahee says, he has suffered a punishment posting, a suspension and even been sent to a mental asylum by his bosses. A resident of Aligarh, Rahee told PTI that he was selected in PCS 2004 and posted in Muzaffarnagar in 2008. "I exposed an over Rs 100-crore scholarship scam in the district. I had informed the directorate about it and some days later, I was attacked in which I sustained seven bullet injuries," he said. "I had to undergo surgery on my mouth. My eyesight in one eye has almost gone. I cannot hear for one year. One side of my jaw was completely damaged. But I somehow survived," Rahee said.

On March 26, 2009, four accused in the case were awarded 10-year sentences by the court, while four other people were set free for lack of evidence. "In this matter, there was 'kharid-farokht (use of money)'. Be it private or government counsel, both were managed and the real culprit saved himself and was set free," Rahee alleged. He said there were two points in the case, a criminal case and a scam. "The judge ignored the scam part. He believed I had no evidence to prove that those who attacked me had any motive to do so. I had come to know about the court's verdict a day before," Rahee claimed. Irrespective of that, his punishment never stopped, he added. "In my present posting, the government has charge-sheeted me twice. When I was shot, there was a BSP government in the state. In the SP regime, I was sent to a mental asylum, and I was suspended in the BJP regime," Rahee said. He claimed he was suspended in 2018 without any reason during his Lalitpur posting and was later transferred to an IAS-PCS coaching centre in Hapur which, he said, is considered a punishment posting.

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Rahee alleged that some months back, he got a call from the director of social welfare who wanted "a work done from me and even threatened to suspend me". Showering praises on former IPS officer and Social Welfare Minister Asim Arun, he said this was the first time he got some support from a minister to end corruption. Rahee said he had been offered bribes but he felt if he reported them, his eight-year-old son's life would be in danger. He added that he has insured himself so that if he is attacked again, his child would not suffer financially.

Rahee, whose father owns a flour shop, did his BTech from Jamshedpur before joining the state services. "There is no dearth of honest people. But they break. I say the test of honesty is when there is an adverse situation. In the fight between honesty and corruption, the corrupt system is so weak that even if one of its links breaks, it will collapse," he said. "It is a gift for my honesty that even after sustaining seven bullet wounds, I am alive and in front of you. Among the seven bullets, three pierced my face," Rahee added. He said he would continue his good work whenever he gets a chance as an administrative officer.

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