Lucknow: Former IAS officer Kannan Gopinathan was detained by the Uttar Pradesh police on Saturday when he was on his way to attend a meet in solidarity with the protests against the newly enacted Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
The news of his detention was announced by Kannan on Twitter. "Detained at UP border," he said in the first of a series of tweets.
Kannan, who had resigned last year in protest against the central government's actions in Jammu and Kashmir, has been active in the protests against CAA and proposed NRC.
In another tweet, he said he was being taken to a dhaba. "Police have been very cordial and respectful. Saying they are just doing as per order," he tweeted.
He said he was detained in Agra though as per the order shared he was barred from entering Aligarh district. Kannan had earlier said that he would be attending various programmes relating to the CAA in UP, including one in the Aligarh Muslim University.
Aligarh police issued a notice saying Kannan was being detained to avoid law and order issues.
The 33-year-old IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre, posted as the Power Secretary in the Union Territories of Daman & Diu, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli, had tendered his resignation on August 21.
The Home Ministry had earlier issued him a show-cause notice on July 8 after receiving a proposal from the UT government for allegedly "indulging in various acts of omission and commission", including "act of insubordination" and "dereliction of duty".
The Home Ministry had said Kannan had submitted his reply to the notice on July 31 before submitting his resignation, saying he had carried out his work with honesty and diligence. The IAS officer replied to the show-cause notice on July 31, denying charges of insubordination, dereliction of duty and dilatory tactics.