UP engineer sacked for eulogising Osama Bin Laden

The Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL) has terminated the services of an engineer for praising the slain Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.

Ravindra Prakash Gautam, a Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO), had been suspended in June 2022 after he put a picture of Laden at his Kayamganj sub-division-II office in Farrukhabad district.

UPPCL Chairman M. Devraj issued Gautam's termination order after a probe committee found the latter guilty of "indulging in an anti-national act that tarnished the image of the department".

A video of Gautam's Kayamganj office with Osama's picture hanging in it, had gone viral last year. The caption of the picture called him "Respected Osama bin Laden, world's best engineer".

His colleagues told reporters then that Gautam used to idolise the former al-Qaeda chief as he had an engineering degree.

Gautam also accepted that the video indeed was true.

Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd (DVVN L) Managing Director, Amit Kishore, said Gautam was suspended immediately and a probe initiated against him.

The inquiry committee of DVVNL levelled several other charges against Gautam such as loss of revenue, doing direct correspondence with the MD, use of indecent behaviour with senior officers and laxity in departmental work, etc.

The inquiry committee also said that when Gautam was asked to answer all the allegations, he came out with baseless and unsatisfactory replies.

Meanwhile, Gautam told reporters that if a section of people in the country can consider Godse as their idol, then why can't he consider Osama bin Laden as his idol?