Angry employees on Friday wore deep red `tilaks' in protest and took out a procession in the corridors of the Secretariat, shouting slogans against the IAS officer. The agitated Government employees also resorted to vandalism and surrounded the officer as he came to office in the morning. There was a mild scuffle as Anil tried to enter his office hounded by the employees and TV crew.

The man at the centre of the controversy was Laxman Mishra, Deputy Director (Agriculture). According to him, Anil recommended his suspension after he allegedly refused to accept his orders not to wear a `tilak' on his forehead in the office. "I had gone to his chamber with a file he had called for. He suddenly noticed the tilak on my forehead and got angry. He asked me to get out and rub off the tilak or I will be suspended," Mishra told reporters. He claimed the officer had di rected him not to wear the tilak a number of times.

Though Anil refused to talk to reporters, Agricultural Production Commissioner N S Madhavan denied having received any recommendation about Mishra's suspension.

Asked about the protest by the staff, he said he was willing to hear the demands of the employees.

Though some employees claimed that the IAS officer had used the dress code to recommend the suspension of Mishra, sources said the officer was angry because Mishra was a shirker. Later, Principal Home Secretary Afzal Amanullah clarified that Mishra had not been suspended and that the state Government would not act against anyone for wearing a tilak.

Anil is among a handful of IAS officers in Bihar who are known to be tough task masters. He came into the limelight after cracking the whip against dreaded RJD MP Mohammad Shahabuddin and banning his entry in the district as DM during the 2005 Assembly polls.