Pahadia’s arrest shocks entire Raj bureaucracy

Jaipur: The entire bureaucracy is shocked by the arrest of IAS NannuMal Pahadia by ACB in a case of graft involving a bribe of Rs 5 lakh. He has been a favorite officer of this govt. He was even being considered for the appointment as RPSC Chairman six months back.

In November 2020, when he was made the collector of a very important district like Alwar, the govt’s kindness to him surprised the people because half a dozen qualified and meritorious young IAS officers in the race to become the collector of Alwar, which has Bhiwadi Industrial Area and NCR, were ignored.

Pahadia was collector for 1.5 years under the patronage of senior Congress leader Bhanwar Jitendra Singh and minister Tika Ram Jully. Even after being removed from the post, he was taking a bribe of Rs 5 lakh, then it can be guessed how much he would have earned while on the chair. He was in deep trouble in January this year when a case of alleged rape of a deaf and mute girl took place in Alwar.

Some schoolgirls had reached Pahadia’s chamber demanding justice for the victim girl. Nannumal had not only threatened the girl students, but also asked for their fathers’ phone numbers only to complain that “their daughters don’t study, come to school to do politics”. Then these girls had written the phone numbers in bold letters and pasted them on the gate of the collector’s residence. When this caught media attention across the country, Pahadia’s chair was shaken but political patronage had saved him then.

Earlier, when Nannumal Pahadia was the Sawai Madhopur collector in 2020, he had also come in deep trouble. In September 2020, his mother died due to covid infection and the dead body was quietly taken from the hospital to her home in Bharatpur in an ambulance. On receiving the complaint, the government got the matter investigated by the Bharatpur Divisional Commissioner. In the inquiry, Pahadia was proved guilty of violating the covid protocol. An FIR was registered against Pahadia at Man Town police station in Sawai Madhopur.

The govt granted prosecution sanction and the matter is pending in the court. A promotee IAS officer Pahadia was the collector in Sawai Madhopur for only 8 months. Earlier also in Dholpur he was the collector only for 7 months and in Karauli for 9 months. Despite having failed in handling the command of three districts as Collector, he was made the collector of a district like Alwar on the recommendation of politicians. He was embroiled in controversies, but nothing happened.

But suddenly, the fate of Nannumal Pahadia turned upside down and the good days turned into “bad days”. In March 2022, a serious illness struck him and he had to be admitted to a major hospital in Delhi. He spent 40 days in the hospital. He had returned to duty ten days ago on April 14 and he was removed as the collector and was given a marginal posting of departmental inquiry in Jaipur.

The govt got angry with him overnight. Bad days came in such a way that only 3 months before retirement, he would have to go to jail. Nannumal could not have imagined even in his dream that time would hit him so hard. Now for life, he will carry the stigma of corruption.