Rinku Singh Rahi, a 2022 batch IAS officer, resigned on Tuesday, alleging that honest people in the system are given a different kind of punishment, where they get their salaries but are not given any meaningful job or work for a long period.
He remained in an “attachment” role, where he was paid a salary but was not allowed to work for the public, he said in an earlier HT report. Pointing out that he described his resignation as a moral choice, he added that taking a salary without doing any work is also a form of corruption.
The sit-in incident
Rahe was appointed as Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Bhuyan in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh on July 28, 2025. However, he was removed from the post within 36 hours of assuming charge.
Soon after a video went viral on social media, allegedly showing him doing sit-ups while holding his ears during a protest by lawyers in Shahjahanpur, Rahi was posted to the UP Board of Revenue.
After taking charge, he saw a clerk (munshi) of advocate Agyaram Sharma urinating on the wall during the toll inspection. The SDM then asked the clerk to stage a sit-in there, leading to protests by lawyers.
Then a group of lawyers told Rahi about the poor condition of the toilets in the building. They said lawyers and clerks often had no choice but to urinate in the open due to a lack of proper facilities.
Rahi accepted their concerns and said that as the most senior collection officer, he bears moral responsibility for poor sanitation. Then he grabbed his ears and performed five sit-ins in front of lawyers, and a video of him spread on social media.
The state government took the matter seriously and asked the district magistrate (DM) to submit a detailed report. After submitting the report, Rahi was removed from his post as SDM and was attached to the Lucknow Board of Revenue.
More about Rinku Singh Rahi
Before joining IAS, Rahi worked as a PCS officer after passing the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission examination in 2004.
While working as a social welfare officer for the district in 2008, he exposed corruption in scholarship and pension schemes.
In March 2009, he survived an attack in which he was shot seven times, including twice in the face. The accident left him disfigured. He lost the sight in one eye, and his jaw was dislocated. He remained in the hospital for a month.
Rahi hails from Hathras district of the state. He cleared the UPSC exam under disability quota in 2021 and became an IAS officer in Uttar Pradesh in 2022.
