His latest suspension came with a twist, as it has triggered protests. Punjab’s food safety officer Abhinav Kumar, 42, comes from a humble background. A resident of Ferozepur, he joined the state’s health department in 2009. In his 17-year-long career, he has faced penal action 26 times, including suspensions and transfers.
Hundreds have taken to the streets against Kumar’s suspension in Ferozepur. Farmer organisations and employee unions have lent their support to the agitation by burning effigies of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and IAS officer Kanwal Preet Brar, who ordered the suspension. The officer has been subjected to action six times in the last four and a half years. The latest suspension occurred on October 1st, when he gained widespread attention after taking action against adulterers.
No explanation was provided, according to him.
Abhinav explains in detail the actions taken against him during the current government, stating that his first posting under this government was in Muktsar, after which he was transferred from one district to another every nine months. His father worked in a government job, and his mother took care of the household. He studied at St. Andrew’s School in Ferozepur Cantonment until his fifth grade, and then at Manohar Lal Model School in the same cantonment for his 12th grade.
A resident of Ferozepur, Punjab, Abhinav Kumar was born on January 12, 1984.
