Heads rolled in the government in the wake of the controversy over the Supreme Court affidavit on Ram Sethu with two senior officials of Archaeological Survey of India being suspended.

Bakshi and Chandrashekhar were put under suspension following the inquiry conducted by ASI Director General A Vaish, sources in New Delhi said.

The inquiry was ordered by the secretary of Union culture ministry and the action against the two ASI officials was taken on the basis of its report submitted by Vaish on Friday, the sources said.

The suspension was approved by Union Tourism and Culture Minister Ambika Soni who returned here from a tour of Japan [Images], they said.

The ASI affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, which said there was no historical or scientific proof about the existence of Lord Ram or Ram Sethu as a man-made bridge, had set off a huge political storm with BJP attacking the government accusing it of hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus.

The government promptly went into a damage-control exercise following a directive from Congress president Sonia Gandhi [Images] and withdrew its two affidavits questioning the existence of Lord Ram and Ram Sethu.