A 2019 batch IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre, deputed in Khunti district of Jharkhand, was sent to judicial custody on Tuesday after being accused of sexually harassing a trainee student of IIT Mandi, Himachal Pradesh.

The IIT trainee had on Monday lodged a complaint against the IAS Sayyed Riyaz Ahemad, who is deputed as the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) of Khunti, said Khunti superintendent of police Aman Kumar.

“Based on the complaint and on interrogation of the accused and some other guests we prima facie found it to be true. The victim’s statement was also recorded before the judicial magistrate on Tuesday and the accused has been forwarded under judicial custody to Khunti jail,” said Kumar.

A group of 16 IIT students, including eight from IIT Mandi, had come on a study tour to Khunti. “They were undergoing training at the district administration and had been invited for a get-together hosted at the residence of the SDM on Saturday night. The girl has alleged that the SDM sexually harassed her when she was alone,” sources in police said.

A case has been filed under IPC sections 354 (sexual assault), 354A (sexual harassment) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) at the Khunti women’s police station, the SP said.