Sasikanth Senthil says it is ‘unethical’ on his part to continue as civil servant when ‘fundamental building blocks of diverse democracy are being compromised’.

S. Sasikanth Senthil, a 2009 batch Karnataka cadre IAS officer and Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada district, has resigned from the civil services on Friday.

In a note here, he said it was “unethical” on his part to continue as civil servant when “fundamental building blocks of diverse democracy are being compromised”.

The coming days would present extremely difficult challenges in the basic fabric of the Nation. As such it would be better to be outside IAS to continue his work, Mr. Senthil said.

He assumed charge as Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada district in June 2017 and was hailed as one of the most proactive DCs the district had seen.

The 40-year-old Mr. Senthil from the 2009 batch hails from Tamil Nadu. He passed out of BE (Electronics) course in first division from the Regional Engineering College of Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirapalli.

Mr. Senthil served as Assistant Commissioner in Ballari between 2009 and 2012 and held the post of Chief Executive Officer of Shivamogga Zilla Panchayat for two terms. He was also the Deputy Commissioner of Chitradurga and Raichur districts. Mr. Senthil was the Director in the Mines and Geology Department since November 2016.

In August, IAS officer Kannan Gopinathan from the AGMUT cadre, who came into the limelight for his anonymous participation in the flood relief efforts in Kerala last year, resigned from service saying he wanted his freedom of expression back.