Bengaluru: A liquor party during office hours has landed nine rural development and panchayat raj (RDPR) department officials in Bengaluru Rural district in trouble for leaving villagers without access to basic public services while they gathered at the foothills of the sacred Siddara Betta for a booze-and-meat party.After photographs and videos of the gathering went viral on social media, triggering widespread public outrage, state govt Wednesday suspended six panchayat development officers (PDOs), two gram panchayat secretaries and a second division assistant (SDA).Acting on rural development and panchayat raj minister Eshwar Khandre’s directions, Bengaluru Rural zilla panchayat chief executive officer Dr Vasanthi Amar placed all nine officials under suspension pending a departmental inquiry. According to the suspension order, the officials left their headquarters on July 24 without obtaining prior permission or sanctioned leave and remained absent from their workplaces during office hours. Instead, they allegedly gathered at Siddara Betta, where they consumed liquor and non-vegetarian food at a revered religious site, in violation of Karnataka Civil Services Rules.Their absence reportedly forced villagers to return without completing routine work such as khata transfers, MGNREGA job card applications and other civic services. Many had travelled from nearby villages after taking time off from agricultural work or daily wage employment, only to find the gram panchayat offices locked and the officials missing.Officials said the suspensions are a preliminary disciplinary measure and that further action will depend on the findings of the departmental inquiry.Suspended officials include: Girish, PDO, Shivagange GP (Nelamangala); Harish, PDO, Agalakuppe GP; Prashanth, PDO, Gollahalli GP; Chiranjeevi, PDO, Manne GP; Ravishankar, PDO, Sompura (Dabaspet) GP; Dinesh- Bettakote GP (Devanahalli); Kemparangayya and Gangadhar, secretaries; and Manjunath, SDA.
