Haryana govt drops charges against IAS officer Ashok Khemka

New Delhi: In a major relief for whistleblower IAS officer Ashok Khemka, the Haryana government on Wednesday dropped charges against him.

Khemka was charge-sheeted in May 2013 by the Congress government of Bhupinder Singh Hooda and accused of administrative misconduct while cancelling the mutation of the Rs 58-crore land deal between Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra's company and DLF.

Khemka, however, said he was yet to receive official confirmation in this regard.

Despite the BJP government taking over in October 2014, the charges had not heretofore been dropped.

On April 1 2015 Khemka was once again transferred to an inconsequential posting by the BJP government in Haryana. This was Khemka's 45th transfer in 24 years.

Khemka, as per the latest orders of the Haryana government, had been posted as Secretary, Archaeology and Museums Department and Director General, Archaeology and Museums.

He was appointed as transport commissioner and secretary, Transport department, last year after Manohar Lal Khattar assumed office as chief minister of the first BJP government in Haryana.

At that time, Khemka, who had blown the lid off from the controversial multi-million-rupee land deals of Vadra, was touted to get an important assignment. However, he was posted in the transport department.

(With inputs from agencies)