KK Pathak is an Indian Civil Servant (IAS) of Bihar who is known for abusing the deputy collector and ‘BASA’ (Bihar Administrative Service Association) in a meeting. On 2 February 2023, a video of him abusing them went viral on social media.
Wiki/Biography
Keshav Kumar Pathak was born on Monday, 15 January 1968 (age 55 years; as of 2023) in Uttar Pradesh. His zodiac sign is Capricorn. He has pursued a bachelor’s degree in economics and M.Phil in economics.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 9″
Hair Colour: Semi-bald
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
His father’s name is Major G.S. Pathak, who was the Principal Secretary of the Minor Water Recourses Department of Bihar.
Wife & Children
There is not much information available about his marital status.
Signature
KK Pathak’s signature
Career
Pathak was appointed as the IAS in 1990. In 2016, he was a part of the Excise and Prohibition Department but was transferred by the Bihar government after he imposed total prohibition of alcohol in Bihar. In 2019, he was appointed as the Managing Director of National Highway and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL). Later in 2019, he also became the CEO of Bihar Foundation and Principal Secretary Department of Industries. In 2021, he was again appointed as the Additional Chief Secretary of the Excise and Prohibition Department in Bihar. He also serves as the Director General of Bipard (Bihar Institute of Public Administration & Rural Development).
Controversies
Violence towards a journalist
In 1990, Pathak attracted controversy when he served as the deputy commissioner of Giridh and hit a journalist for presenting a wrong report about him.
Accused of misusing his power
In 2018, he attracted controversy when he was accused by the SBI of misusing his power and filing a false case against them. In 2016, Pathak filed a case against seven branch managers of SBI for late deposit of stamp duty. In 2018, the Patna High Court imposed a fine of Rs. 1.75 lakhs on Pathak.
Accused of threatening and beating
In 2019, while he was serving as the Principal Secretary of the Minor Irrigation Department, he was accused of threatening to kill and beat Kumud Raj Singh, director of Maa Shakuntala Infrastructure Pvt Ltd.
Abusing his own staff during a meeting
On 2 February 2023, Pathak was seen abusing the deputy collector and ‘BASA’ (Bihar Administrative Service Association) in a video that went viral on social media. In the video, he was seen talking about people in the city not following traffic rules. In the video, he said,
In Chennai, people follow rules. Have you ever seen anyone here following the traffic rules? They will keep honking even if there is a red light. Have you not seen this? People here are like that only. Laal light bhi hai, pe pe bhi karega…the situation of the deputy collector is this.”
In the video, it was seen that the deputy collector also tried to apologise to him, but Pathak was very aggressive and kept shouting at him. After the video went viral, the Bihar Administrative Service Association filed an FIR against him and demanded his resignation from the post. Sunil Kumar, the Prohibition, excise and registration minister in the Bihar government, demanded strict action against him. Reportedly, this behaviour of Pathak was related to the death of Vivek Kumar, a deputy collector. On 14 November 2022, Vivek was sent to Gaya for field training from Dehradun, where he died. When he died, Pathak was a trainer there. On 5 December 2022, ten other trainees fell ill in Gaya and were admitted to the hospital. BASA complained about Vivek’s death to the Chief Secretary, but no action was taken against Pathak. On 10 December 2022, Pathak wrote a letter to Chief Secretary and talked about the state officers and said that they were “indisciplined”, “self delusional” and have “a weird sense of superiority complex and self entitlement”. BASA decided to protest against Pathak by wearing black wristbands and praying for his mental purification.
Facts/Trivia
- Pathak is known for his unbiasedness and honest behaviour. In 2005, while he was the district magistrate of Gopalganj, he did not wait for the VIP invited for the inauguration of a hospital building, rather he asked the hospital sweeper to inaugurate the building. This behaviour caused a problem for him because MP Sadhu Yadav was very angry with him for wasting the money from the MPLAD fund spent on the inauguration.
- In 2021, when he became the Additional Chief Secretary of the Excise and Prohibition Department in Bihar, he made his mobile number public so that people could call him for assistance in any case related to liquor.
- Sunil Tiwari, general secretary of the Bihar Administrative Services Association commented on Pathak’s behaviour and said that it was not the first time he had done this. In the interview, he further said,
The government should sack KK Pathak as soon as possible. He is not in a good frame of mind. Apart from being the Secretary of the Prohibition Department, he is also in charge of BIPARD and during training, He harasses the officers of Bihar. Meanwhile, One officer has also died after being publicly humiliated by him. All our officials are angry about this video. We are going to take action as soon as possible. At present, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and the Chief Secretary are requested to take action against him.”
- Bihar BJP spokesperson talked about Pathak and demanded strict action against him. In an interview, he said,
Bihar’s CM cum Home Minister Nitish Kumar has no control over the police-administration. Administrative redtapism- anarchy unbridled bureaucracy is behaving arbitrarily with public. IAS KK Pathak must apologise for lumpenism misbehavior to BASA officers or Govt must dismiss.”