Suspended ex-Andaman chief secretary Narain claims was in Delhi on day of alleged rape

New Delhi, Oct 18: Suspended senior IAS officer and the chairman and managing director of the Delhi Financial Corporation Jitendra Narain has written to the Union Home Ministry claiming he was in Delhi on an official tour on April 14 when the first alleged assault took place.

A 21-year-old woman alleged that this year in April and May, she was gang-raped twice by Jitendra Narain and RL Rishi, another bureaucrat. According to the woman's complaint, the first alleged sexual assault took place on April 14, 2022, and the second on May 1, 2022.

In the letter dated October 5, a copy of which has been seen by news agency PTI, the officer stated that he was in Delhi between April 11, 2022, and April 18, 2022 and has given details of his tour.

Narain claimed that on May 1 he was engaged in ''some personal legal issues'' relating to a friend who had arrived in Port Blair that morning. He provided the travel details of his friend as well.

He said his call data records and cellphone locations may be looked into to confirm his claim.

However, there was no confirmation from the Union Home Ministry on the letter.

''The allegations are completely untrue for the simple reason that they are impossible in the alleged dates and time spans,'' he wrote.

''I also know that the police authorities are fully aware of the circumstances of those two dates, and yet are allowing this false and vexatious prosecution to continue at the behest of certain powerful individuals in satisfaction of vested interest,'' he claimed in the letter.

He further alleged that he was being framed because he had taken disciplinary action against an employee.

The government on Monday suspended Narain, who is presently posted as the chairman and managing director of the Delhi Financial Corporation.

"The Ministry received a report on October 16, 2022, from Andaman and Nicobar Police regarding the alleged sexual assault of a lady by Jitendra Narain, IAS, the then Chief Secretary, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and others. As the Report indicated the possibility of grave misconduct and misuse of the official position on the part of Sh. Jitendra Narain, IAS, the Union Home Minister directed to take immediate strict action against the officer concerned as per law," the ministry said in a statement.