Kerala IAS Officer Booked For Sending Inappropriate Messages To Woman Journalist

IAS officer N Prasanth was booked by the Kerala police on Tuesday for allegedly insulting modesty of a female journalist. As per reports, the woman reached out to the officer for an official reaction but he sent her inappropriate stickers on Whatsapp.

The incident reportedly took place in February and the police have filed a case. The police cited lack of legal guidance in the matter as the reason for delay in filing the case.

The police in their statement to PTI said, "We have registered a case under Section 509 of the Indian Penal Code." The mentioned section deals with punishment against people who insult the modesty of any woman. Usage of words, sounds, gestures or any objects intruding a woman's privacy are included in the section.

The IAS officer, Prasanth is currently posted as the Managing Director of Kerala State Inland Navigation Corporation ( KSINC). Earlier this year, he was caught up in a controversy wherein the corporation signed an MoU with an American firm on deep sea twirling.

The female reporter of a local media house contacted the officer seeking a statement in the matter. Prasanth replied with just a sticker. When the reporter asked again assuring that the story she was pursuing was not to harm him, he allegedly replied with another sticker which seemed inappropriate and obscene to the journalist.

The Kerala state government had issued an enquiry in the matter against the 2007 batch IAS officer in May this year for his behaviour. The complaint of the case was filed by the Kerala Union of Working Journalists ( KUWJ).

The screenshots of the chat between the journalist and the IAS officer N Prasanth have been circulated in the media. As per a report by News Minute, the reporter was working on a story to be published in Mathrubhumi newspaper.