Another IAS officer quits, says "democracy is being compromised"

Senthil said he resigned for personal reasons, and apologized to the public representatives of Dakshina Kannada district saying, "They have been extremely kind to me."

Sources told The Times of India that Senthil had been on a week's leave, with the Zilla Panchayat CEO Selvamani taking the charge.

His resignation came as a shock to everyone, including his personal assistant, the sources said.

In his resignation letter, Senthil stated, "I feel strongly that the coming days will present extremely difficult challenges to the basic fabric of our nation and that I would be better off outside the IAS to continue with my work at making life better for all. It simply cannot be business as usual."

He added, "It simply cannot be business as usual anymore."

Notably, Senthil, who hails from Tamil Nadu, became the Dakshina Kannada DC in June 2017.

Earlier, he had held the position of Director in the Mines and Geology Department since November 2016.

The 40-year-old was also an Assistant Commissioner in Ballari (2009-2012), Chief Executive Officer of Shivamogga Zilla Panchayat, and was the Deputy Commissioner of Chitradurga and Raichur districts for two terms.

Separately, on August 21, Kannan Gopinathan (32), an IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre, resigned over the "violation of fundamental rights" of J&K residents.

Kannan, a 2012-batch IAS officer, served as the secretary of the power, urban development and town and country planning of Daman & Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

He was later asked to resume duty until the resignation is accepted.