Students Detained For Calling IAS Tina Dabi A 'Reel Star'; Officer Responds
Barmer district collector Tina Dabi has come into the news for another controversy related to her stardom, which the 2015 batch IAS officer has refuted. The incident occurred on Saturday while college students in Rajasthan’s Barmer were protesting against the examination fee hike outside the Barmer’s Maharana Bhupal College (MBC) Girls College and wanted to meet Dabi.
An official reportedly said that Dabi is a ‘role model’ for them. However, some students, affiliated with the BJP-backed student body, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), disagreed and called the DC a ‘reel star’.
The student protested that the collector is not a role model; if she were, she would have come to meet students and listen to them. Whereas, students called Dabi a reel star, who goes everywhere to make reels but does not pay attention to the students’ problems.
The students were later allegedly detained for calling the collector Tina Dabi a ‘reel star’, a claim which was refuted by the officer.
As per the students, they were detained after their sit-in protests had concluded. Many students then gathered near the police station and demanded the release of the detained students.
The arrest of students for expressing their views is deeply condemnable and strikes at the very core of democratic values. When police officials asked the protesting girls to speak to the Collector, IAS Tina Dabi, referring to her as a “real star,” ABVP students clearly responded… pic.twitter.com/xrfxxiievz
— ABVP (@ABVPVoice) December 22, 2025
Senior police officer Manoj Kumar said that they did not detain or arrest any student. Instead, the police brought four students to the station just to calm down the situation. They were later allowed to go after the senior officers had spoken to them. Students gathered at the station and demanded an apology from the administration, the officer informed.
In the entire incident and allegations, IAS officer Tina Dabi reportedly said that no student was arrested while they were blocking the road and trying to create a nuisance. They were taken to the police station for talks and to cool down. They were left two hours later, and the issue on the ground was dead, Dabi reportedly clarified.
She also added that the issue is running on social media just to malign and gain some cheap publicity.
Her response came after many people, including Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, slammed her for the alleged action.
Tina Dabi has been admired by the UPSC candidates as one of the most popular officers. She secured rank 1 in the UPSC CSE 2015 exam and became the youngest woman IAS officer.
