UP chief minister Akshilesh Yadav.

This photo shows illegal sand mining going on in Noida. (TOI file photo by Prem Bisht)

AGRA: A little over a year after IAS Durga Shakti Nagpal faced heat from the state government for taking on UP’s influential sand mafia, her husband Abhishek Singh was suspended on Saturday for allegedly treating a dalit teacher in an “inhuman” manner in Mathura.Singh, an IAS officer posted in Mathura as a subdivisional magistrate (Mahawan), allegedly forced the government teacher to do sit-ups in his office for “failing to complete an electoral task in time”.A notification issued by CM Akhilesh Yadav’s office informed Singh of his “immediate” suspension but stopped short of elaborating on the nature of the “inhuman” treatment meted out to the teacher.Fauran Singh, 55, a teacher in a primary school in Baldeo block of Mathura district, told TOI that he was asked to be present in the ADM’s office at 9pm on Wednesday. “The SDM asked me to do 100 sit-ups in presence of other administrative officials and my own son,” he alleged. “He (the SDM) said the way you punish kids when they don’t complete their homework, you also do the sit-ups likewise.”The incident has led the local teachers’ association to protest the move. Representative of Madhyamik Shikshak Sangh met the district magistrate, demanding strict action against the SDM.District president of Uttar Pradesh Primary Education Association Ramdwashar Rawat said, “This is not done. Teachers are always victimized. We have been hired to teach. Yet we are forced to do tasks which we are not supposed to do, including poll duty.”Despite repeated attempts, SDM (Mahawan) Abhishek could not be contacted.Durga Shakti Nagpal, a 2010-batch IAS officer, was suspended on July 27 last year ostensibly for taking on the powerful sand-mining mafia when she was the SDM of Gautam Budh Nagar.However, CM Akhilesh Yadav had said she was suspended for arbitrarily ordering the demolition of a wall of an under-construction mosque in Kadalpur village.Her suspension was later revoked by the state government in September. Even Abhishek Singh was transferred to Jhansi from his earlier posting during that incident.