UP IAS officer asks Yogi government to pay him only half his salary. Who is he?

An Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer posted in Uttar Pradesh has questioned the state's administrative work culture, transparency and accountability mechanisms, requesting that he be paid only half his salary on the ground that he has only about four hours of effective work each day, news agency PTI said. In the four-page letter, written on 15 July and addressed to the principal secretary, Appointment and Personnel Department, the officer Rinku Singh Rahi sought an assessment of his suitability for the state's administrative system. Rahi alleged that he was transferred from the post of SDM, Jalaun, to SDM (Judicial) in haste even before the committee constituted to investigate the controversy had submitted its report. He has appealed the department to review his transfer and allow him to continue in his current assignment until a final decision is taken. Rahi said that if he was found suitable, he should be assigned responsibilities on par with other officers of his batch. Otherwise, the government should consider transferring him to another state cadre in accordance with the rules. Rahi claimed that during his posting in Jalaun, he had created WhatsApp groups for every gram panchayat and urban locality, linking citizens, officials and government employees to establish a real-time, evidence-based social audit system. According to him, the mechanism enabled monitoring of the attendance and functioning of field-level employees, including village secretaries, lekhpals and sanitation workers, while residents also shared evidence of alleged irregularities and corruption. The officer alleged that several key categories of public information, including attendance records of field staff, beneficiary lists, details of MGNREGA works, lists of encroachments on government land, detailed project reports and tender-related documents, were not made public despite his repeated requests to senior officials in the interest of transparency. He further alleged that he faced pressure and controversy while conducting inquiries into cases relating to illegal encroachments, illegal mining and public complaints. The IAS officer also claimed that attempts were made to pressure him into accepting false complaint disposal reports, though he continued to act in accordance with the rules. Rahi, who is currently posted as Sub-Divisional Magistrate (Judicial), said he had only around four hours of effective work every day. On that basis, he requested that he be paid only half his salary from July 22, saying he believed in the ethical principle of "equal pay for equal work" and did not consider it appropriate to draw full salary without commensurate work. The officer also commented on the grievance redressal system in the district magistrate's office, saying merely disposing of complaints was not sufficient and that fixing accountability of the officials concerned and ensuring a permanent solution should be the objective. The allegations made in the letter are Rahi's personal claims and have not been independently verified. Rahi is an Indian whistleblower and 2023-batch IAS officer of UP cadre. He has frequently courted controversy in Uttar Pradesh due to his aggressive whistleblowing and defiance. Rahi has previously raised similar concerns about his service conditions. In March this year, he wrote three letters to the government seeking what he termed a “technical resignation,” saying he had full faith in the system but was not being given meaningful work. In July 2025, the officer was transferred and attached to the UP Revenue Board after a video purportedly showing him doing sit-ups amid a protest by lawyers in Shahjahanpur went viral on social media. Before cracking the UPSC exam, Rahi was a Provincial Civil Service officer posted at the Welfare Department in Muzaffarnagar where he was nearly killed after being shot at multiple times by assailants when he busted a major scam in his department. In 2009, Rahi was serving as a Provincial Civil Service (PCS) officer, specifically working as the District Social Welfare Officer in Muzaffarnagar, when he was shot seven times after exposing a multi-crore scholarship scam. He miraculously survived, though he suffered severe facial damage and lost vision in one eye. Later, as SDM Shahjahanpur, a viral video showed him performing public sit-ups to defuse a protest by lawyers over sanitation, leading to his temporary sidelining. More recently, he was in the news after he tendered to the President of India a "technical resignation" over a "lack of meaningful work", after which he was sent to his current posting. (With PTI inputs) Oops! Looks like you have exceeded the limit to bookmark the image. Remove some to bookmark this image.