karnataka

Updated: Sep 06, 2019 14:56 IST

S Sasikanth Senthil, a 40-year-old IAS officer, resigned from the civil services on Friday, saying that it would be “unethical” for him to continue in the government any longer.

Senthil, a 2009 batch Indian Administrative Service officer, is the second to announce his decision to exit the bureaucracy over the last month.

An engineering graduate from Tamil Nadu, Senthil is posted as the deputy commissioner of Dakshina Kannada district.

Also read: IAS officer Kannan Gopinathan asked to join duty immediately

“I have taken this decision as it is unethical for me to continue as a civil servant in the government when the fundamental building blocks of our diverse democracy are being compromised in an unprecedented manner,” Sethil wrote in a letter that was released on Friday.

“I also feel strongly that the coming days will present extremely difficult challenges to the basic fabric of our nation and that I would be better off outside the IAS to continue with my work at making life better for all,” he added in the letter.

“It simply cannot be business as usual anymore,” he wrote.

The official also thanked the people of the district and political representatives who he said, had been very kind to him and underscored that he owed “an apology to them for discontinuing the job vested on me midway”.

Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat CEO Dr Selvamani R, also an IAS officer, confirmed receiving the letter. “As per the letter, the resignation was due to personal reasons,” he said when asked if Senthil had been formally informed about his decision.

Last month, Kannan Gopinathan - an IAS officer three batches junior to Senthil in the pecking order - had resigned, reportedly over denial of freedom of expression to the people of Jammu and Kashmir has been asked to resume his duty immediately.