Even as the Haryana State Commission for Women has taken suo motu notice of sexual harassment allegations against a senior IAS officer, the latter on Monday denied the charges made by a junior female IAS officer.

On the basis of media reports about allegations of sexual harassment made by the 28-year-old IAS officer against her senior, the Haryana State Commission called the officer as well as the woman before it at 2 p.m.

Sources said while the woman officer presented her case before the Commission and reiterated her allegations, the additional chief secretary (animal husbandry), Sunil Gulati through email sought three days time to appear before the panel. He has now been asked to appear before the Commission on 13 June.

After the woman officer expressed threat to her security, the Commission has directed the state police chief to provide her security which was allegedly withdrawn after she complained against her senior.

Earlier speaking to reporters, Gulati denied all the charges of sexual harassment levelled on him by the junior IAS officer as ‘baseless’.

The officer asserted that he tried to help the female IAS officer after he came to know about a few problems faced by her.  Gulati said that he is ready for investigation and can go under lie-detector test, if needed.

He also claimed that the female IAS officer had been advised “not to find faults with the files which have got all necessary clearances from other officials”.

On the other hand, the woman IAS officer, while talking to a TV news agency reiterated her allegation. “Sunil Gulati sexually harassed and threatened me. Such incidents took place with me earlier too when I was posted in Ambala, Kosli and Dabwali. I’ve complained about it to officers but no was taken against them till today,” she said.

In a post on Facebook, the 2014 batch IAS had on Sunday  alleged that the senior officer first called her to his office room on 22 May and questioned her about the adverse comments she had made in the files. She alleged the officer threatened her of dire consequences of its on her future as an officer and was even told that he would get her transferred in two months.

She claimed that on 31 May, the officer again called her to his office and told his staff to  not to let anybody else enter his office. During this meeting, the officer allegedly told her to just sign the official files and not to make any comments in the same.