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Chandigarh, Feb 23 (IANS) A woman Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer here has been booked by the child rights panel for slapping a four-year-old girl who had accidentally caused an autorickshaw to scratch her car, officials said here Wednesday.

Sujata Dass, a 1978-batch Punjab-cadre IAS officer who is posted as secretary, vigilance inquiries, Punjab, has been booked by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR). She had slapped the child, Garima, who is a nursery student, in full public view.

Garima was returning from school in an autorickshaw when the incident took place. The autorickshaw driver stopped the vehicle in the Sector 38 market to drop a child and stepped out with the ignition on.

In the meantime Dass, who stays here in Sector 39, reached there in her official Honda City car. Garima accidentally pulled the gear lever and the autorickshaw banged the rear door of the car. Infuriated, Dass came out and thrashed the child.

Following this, Garima’s father reached the police station to lodge a complaint but a compromise was struck between the two parties as Dass apologised.

Garima is a nursery student at Delhi Public school in Sector 40 here.

However, a city-based NGO filed a complaint against the officer with NCPCR.

’A public servant cannot indulge in such incidents. This is a clear violation of the code of conduct and we would take an appropriate action. We have also sent a notice to Punjab government and sought a reply from them,’ said a senior official of NCPCR.