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I did not leak the letter to media: D Roopa Moudgil

DIG Roopa claims allegations are baseless, says she regularly attended office.

Deputy Inspector General of Police (Prisons) D. Roopa, who had alleged that top jail authorities were providing preferential treatment to the jailed AIADMK interim general secretary V.K. Sasikala after taking a bribe of Rs 2 crore, now feels she is being singled out for exposing the truth. The whistleblower cop shares her views with Mujahid Deputy of Deccan Chronicle.

There are allegations that you have intentionally leaked the report to the media, in which you had made serious allegations against the Director General (Prisons) H. Satyanarayana Rao of taking a bribe for providing preferential treatment to Sasikala in jail.
The allegations are baseless. I did not share the content with anyone including the media. In fact, it was him (Satyanarayana Rao) who disclosed the content before media on Wednesday. I just wrote the letter in good spirit and got it delivered to Chief Secretary’s office, Additional Chief Secretary’s office, DG & IGP and DG’s (Prisons) office well within office hours on Wednesday. I don't know from where it has been leaked.

CM has ordered an inquiry into your findings. He has declared that action could be taken against you for going to media, pointing that service rules don't allow officials to do so.
I welcome the inquiry. A fair inquiry has to be done in order to correct the ongoing irregularities in the jail and strict action should be taken against the wrongdoers. Regarding the action against me for speaking to media, it is unfair to single me out while others have also spoken to media regarding this issue. If action is taken against me, then it should also be taken against all those who have violated the conduct rules by speaking to the media.

Do you think you have violated the service rules by speaking to the media? Has anyone previously done this? If yes, what punishment they got?
I don’t think I have violated the rules as, I repeat, I did not speak to the media. In 2013, when Sonia Narang was the Belagavi SP, there were allegations against her that she had taken a bribe in mining scam, which later turned out to be false. The Chief Minister had cited the bribery issues on the floor of the house following which she had held a press conference and spoken against the CM. No action was taken against her. If any action would be taken against me, I'll rake up that issue.

What does the criticism from top officials and the government means to you, when you feel you are being pulled up for doing your duty?
There is no question of feeling as it is a professional matter. I have no loopholes to hide and if at all I had, I wouldn’t have taken steps to expose the irregularities inside the prison. I don’t get anything by this and my intention was bona fide - to correct the irregularities in the system. If I am targeted for that, it’s unfair. No doubt, ‘show me the face, I'll show the rules’ mindset is prevailing here and that should go.

There are allegations that you were irregular in attending office. How far is this true?
They are baseless. I am regular to the office. In fact, he (Satyanarayana Rao) was obstructing me from discharging my duties and I was questioned for visiting the jail for inspection. He had said that I did not attend the review meeting on July 10 and instead went to the jail. I was just followed instructions. He had asked me not to attend any meeting unless he told me to. Police and prison departments are different. You need not attend all the meetings, is what he had told me.

Now that an inquiry has been ordered to investigate your findings. What is your next step?
I will soon submit a three-page letter with evidence and more information on the ongoing irregularities in the jail. I wouldn’t want comment on that now.

Ex-bureaucrat to probe jail lapses
Hauling DIG (Prisons) D. Roopa Moudgil over the coals for issuing statements to the media about corruption in the prisons department, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday announced that irregularities would be probed by retired IAS officer Mr Vinay Kumar.

In Mysuru, the Chief Minister told the media that service rules do not permit officers to issue statements to the media and therefore she was handed a notice. “It is prohibited” he said adding, however, that issues raised by the woman police officer would be probed by Mr Siddaramaiah and subsequent action would follow. Meanwhile, a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said Mr Vinay Kumar would submit a preliminary report in one week, and the final report in one month. Mrs Roopa Moudgil’s allegations against DGP (Prisons), H. N. Sathyanarayana Rao, include that he was facilitating VIP treatment for certain prisoners including AIADMK (Amma) leader Sasikala Natarajan.

When women officers take on the system
The recent expose by Deputy Inspector General ( Prisons) D. Roopa Moudgil on the state of affairs at Parappana Agrahara central prison has kicked up a debate as to why only woman officers take on the system or revolt against corruption.

In bureaucracy, where men are in majority, it has been a difficult task for women to establish their identity. But some woman officers, have exhibited outstanding determination when it comes to corruption. Just two years ago, DIG Sonia Narang submitted a report exposing in-house corruption in the anti-corruption agency, Lokayukta. The blow was so hard that it resulted in the state government dismantling the Lokayukta institution, though for other reasons, and establishing the Anti-Corruption Bureau. Last year, it was former DySP of Kudligi subdivision in Ballari district, Anupama Shenoy, who took on then district in-charge minister P.T. Parameshwar Naik and finally resigned. Now, it’s Ms Moudgil against her immediate boss. When DC spoke to some woman police officers, they said that such things happen as women, generally, are morally upright and less corrupt compared to men officers. “The sense of being non-corrupt makes us strong to take on corrupt officers. When we have joined the services with a purpose an
d then see what’s going on around us, we just can’t take it. So, naturally, we will report the matter to the concerned no matter how big or small the issue is,” said a woman DySP. Another SP rank officer said, “Women are not treated equally in our society. It applies for working women in all fields. The situation is far worse in the police department. This works as a trigger and some officers revolt against wrong-doers.” However, a DIG rank woman officer, said that it will not be correct if only female officers are given the ‘rebel’ tag. “We (bureaucrats) are a part of the system and we should always work to make it better. Many men officers have also reported against anomalies. Going to the media and bringing disrespect to a department is not a good move,” she said.

( Source : Deccan Chronicle. )
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