Ranchi, Jan. 21: The state government today issued a showcause notice to Sajal Chakraborty over an argument he had with chief minister Raghubar Das at a review meeting yesterday, the action coming 24 hours after he was removed from the post of chief secretary.

The notice asks Chakraborty to explain within three days his outburst at yesterday's meeting which was discussing, among other pressing matters, ways to improve the state's security environment.

According to senior bureaucrats present at the meeting, the argument took place over issuing written directives to IG and DIG rank police officers on their duties.

Chakraborty wanted written directives issued, while over the next seven minutes or so, the chief minister tried to explain to him that since the police manual was clear on the duties of senior officers, there was no need to issue fresh directives.

This, the sources said, irked Chakraborty, who suddenly stood up from his chair and said that since he felt humiliated and insulted, there was no point in him staying on.

The chief minister was surprised but chose not to react. In fact, he tried to laugh it off while other officials tried to pacify Chakraborty.

However, by evening a notification for Chakraborty's removal was issued, although his exit was long imminent since the state had already requested the Centre on his replacement - Jharkhand cadre IAS Rajiv Gauba, who is on deputation at the Union home ministry.

Since Gauba will join on January 27, another IAS, Radhey Shyam Poddar, was named acting chief secretary today.

The showcause, issued on behalf of the state government by state personnel and administrative reforms department principal secretary Santosh Kumar Satpathy, is specific.

'You were supposed to be a role model for everybody. But your tone and temper was unbecoming of a civil servant. This also diminishes the chair's dignity. In fact, it was uncivil. Government intends to take disciplinary action against you under All India Service Conduct Rule, 1956. Your need to reply to showcause within three days,' it read.

IAS officers were unwilling to link Chakraborty's removal to yesterday's incident at the meeting.

'The state had already indicated its mind when it sent a request to the Centre to send back Gauba a week ago,' said a senior officer posted in the state.

Chakraborty, who has been transferred to the state civil aviation department, is considered to be a maverick in the bureaucracy. He is due to retire on December 31, 2016.

Often involved in arguments with his bosses earlier, the IAS officer has claimed on several occasions that there was a 'caucus' working against him as it wanted him ousted from the post of the state's top bureaucrat.

He has had altercations with former chief minister Hemant Soren and several JMM leaders, including MLA Paulus Surin and former MLA Aquil Akhtar.

Hemant had, in fact, replaced him with Sudhir Prasad as chief secretary last year before recalling him again.