An IAS officer, who once exposed a Rs 100 crore welfare scam and survived seven bullets, was shunted after doing sit-ups in the Tehsil before lawyers who were protesting over filthy public toilets. Rinku Singh Rahi’s transfer came 36 hours after the video of his sit-up went viral, The Times of India reported.
This came hot on the heels of Singh cancelling unpublicised land auctions in Simra Van as SDM of Shahjahanpur. The auctions, covering fish ponds and cattle shed land, were scheduled without any public announcement, potentially preventing fair bidding.
“If no notice is issued within 15 days, an FIR will be filed against the lekhpal concerned,” he had warned, as per a report by TOI.
The IAS officer also created two WhatsApp groups to help residents raise complaints from wherever they are and also planned to digitise several records, including court proceedings and document submissions, as he believes that one shouldn’t have to file RTIs to get basic information.
What does the now-viral video show?
The now-viral video opens to show him standing before the lawyers who were protesting over administrative neglect. As the video goes on, he asks lawyers about who is responsible for the lack of cleanliness.
Towards the end of the video, the lawyers who called in a sit-in protest stood up and started talking to him.
In UP's Shahjahanpur, an IAS officer Rinku Singh did sit-ups during protest by lawyers. This was after IAS Singh, posted as SDM, objected to filth and lack of cleanliness in the tehsil premises not going down well with the agitating lawyers. pic.twitter.com/pDKJfF2KqJ
— Piyush Rai (@Benarasiyaa) July 29, 2025
No reason given so far for transfer
His transfer letter, which is also viral on social media, didn’t mention any reason. It simply conveys the UP government’s order, relayed through the DM, that he has been shunted from Shahjahanpur to Lucknow.
“I took responsibility because I was the senior-most officer. If seniors lead by example, systems improve,” Singh was quoted by TOI as saying.
He added, “I will serve wherever I’m posted. I’ll not tolerate wrongdoing,” before admitting that the sit-ups video could’ve led to his transfer to Lucknow.
Who is Rinku Singh Rahi?
Rinku Singh Rahi is a 2022 batch IAS officer who first cleared the UPPCS in 2004. Singh was posted in 2008 as District Social Welfare Officer in Muzaffarnagar. There, he exposed irregularities in the transfer of Rs 100 crore fund meant for social welfare schemes.
He refused bribes and repeatedly warned against digging deeper. However, he continued his investigation and was shot seven times in the face. The brutal attack left him blind in his right eye, with a bullet fragment still lodged in his skull.
In 2012, he sat on a protest outside the social welfare directorate in Lucknow after being denied promotion. When he refused to end the protest, police intervened and attempted to forcibly admit him to a hospital. However, the hospital declined to place him in the psychiatric ward without his or his family’s consent.
Cut to 2022, he cleared the coveted UPSC exam under the physically challenged category at the age of 40. He secured an all-India rank of 683 under the Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) quota and joined the UP cadre as an IAS officer.