[1][2][3] She came into public view after launching a massive drive against corruption and illegal sand mining within her jurisdiction of Gautam Budh Nagar as Joint Magistrate.

In July 2013, she was suspended by the Akhilesh Yadav led Government of UP for allegedly demolishing an illegal mosque wall in Kadalpur village near Jewar,[4][5] which resulted in severe opposition as it was perceived to be based on flimsy grounds.

There was a growing demand from various political parties, associations of Indian bureaucrats,[6][7] and by the general public on online social media for her suspension to be revoked.

[14][15][16] Durga Nagpal was appointed as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the Union Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Minister, Radha Mohan Singh on 14 January 2015.

She came into public notice after acting against the "sand mafia" in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh by forming special investigation teams to stop the illegal sand-mining in the Yamuna and Hindon river banks.

[27] According to environmentalists and engineers, the massive amount of mining is responsible for soil-erosion and changing the natural flow of the Hindon and Yamuna, which shifted its course by about 500 metres toward east and posed a threat to flood embankments in six sectors of Noida.

[32][33][34][35] After receiving many complaints of dredging in the Yamuna and Hindon rivers banks, the UP Chief Minister's office in Lucknow asked the GB Nagar district administration to prevent further illegal activity.

[36][37] On 23 July 2013, Nagpal had said that she would take strict action against dredgers engaged in illegal mining, adding that such activity could affect the environment adversely.

Since April 2013, the Uttar Pradesh Police had filed 17 FIRs and the Chief Judicial magistrate had ordered the arrest of illegal sand miners in 22 cases.

Under Nagpal, a joint operation involving the revenue, police and transport departments was launched and villages of Asgarpur, Nangla Wajidpur, Gulavli, Kambakshpur, Jaganpur Chaproli were monitored.

[39][40][41] On the night of 29 July 2013, the Gautam Buddha Nagar police arrested 15 persons and confiscated 26 vehicles in the district and registered seven cases, some of which were in Dankaur and Greater Noida areas.

[42] Nagpal was suspended on 28 July 2013, a day after she allegedly demolished a wall of an under-construction mosque in Kadalpur village, in the Rabupura area of Jewar.

[49][50] On 16 August, Nagpal submitted her reply to the chargesheet filed by the UP government, in which she declared herself innocent and said that her action was within the rules of service and as per the directions of the Supreme Court.

[51][52] On 28 August, Noida district magistrate Ravikant Singh, who backed Nagpal's actions, was transferred from his post and was put on a wait list.

References were made with the Hindu goddess Durga for taking action against the politically well-connected sand-mining mafia and real estate barons.

[58] Due to the public protests, the UP government had to engage in damage control, highlighting its welfare schemes and announcing that it is considering to set up a task force to check illegal mining.

[59] Kiran Bedi and large number of people on social media like Facebook and Twitter[58] protested against the IAS officer's suspension.

[77][78] UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi wrote a letter to the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, demanding fair treatment of the officer.

[82] The demolition was reportedly executed in compliance to Supreme Court orders forbidding construction of illegal religious structures on public land.

[43][86] After the IAS officers' association protested on 29 July, Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary said that the suspension order would be reviewed,[25] but despite the assurances, no decision has been taken.

Dhirendra Singh, spokesperson for the Uttar Pradesh Congress party, said that the villagers were not aware of the Supreme Court rulings and it was the duty of the administration to direct them into getting permission and at least stop the construction temporarily.

"[96][97] The court also sought an explanation from the UP government for arresting Kanwal Bharti, a scholar who allegedly wrote a post on Facebook in support of Nagpal.

The central government had passed an advisory notification based on an earlier order of the court which said that a person cannot be arrested for posting objectionable comments on social networking sites without taking permission from a high-ranking police official.