Indian civil servant finally sacked after failing to turn up to work for 24 years

The Indian government has sacked a civil servant who went on leave in 1990 and never came back to work. Urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu said a case of "wilful absence" had been proved against electrical engineer AK Verma.

Mr Verma had been under investigation since 1992, but had refused to co-operate, the minister said. Correspondents say absenteeism is a pervasive problem in government-run offices in India.



Mr Naidu said in a statement that Mr Verma joined the Central Public Works Department in 1980. He had risen to the rank of executive engineer by 1990, when he went on leave. An inquiry was set up in 1992, but formal proceedings to dismiss him were not begun until 2007.

It took a further seven years for the department to reach a decision and dismiss him. It is not clear whether he was paid during his time off. India’s civil servants have long been notorious for arriving late, taking long lunches or spending parts of their day on the golf course.