After public spat, Karnataka transfers top women officers
The two bureaucrats have been at war since Roopa, on February 19 targeted Sindhuri for alleged corruption and for sharing what she described as “objectionable pictures” with colleagues. Sindhuri dismissed the allegations, and accused Roopa of driving a “false, personal vilification campaign”.
An all-too-public battle in Karnataka between two high-profile women, IAS officer Rohini Sindhuri and IPS officer D Roopa has ended badly for both with an irate government transferring them from their current roles, without posting.
Roopa was serving as the managing director of the state handicrafts development corporation, while Sindhuri was the Muzrai department commissioner.
The two bureaucrats have been at war since Roopa, on February 19 targeted Sindhuri for alleged corruption and for sharing what she described as “objectionable pictures” with colleagues. Sindhuri dismissed the allegations, and accused Roopa of driving a “false, personal vilification campaign”. The two later approached chief secretary Vandita Sharma over the matter, seeking action against each other.
The state government on Tuesday decided to transfer the officers. “Smt. Bharathi D… IAS (KN:2013) waiting for posting is posted with immediate effect and until further orders as Managing Director, Karnataka State Handicrafts Development Corporation Ltd. Bengaluru vice Smt. Roopa D., IPS, transferred,” the notification said.
The Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR) has also asked the officers to refrain from going to the media or sharing anything on social media. “In spite of having a forum to file your objections and complaints, you have gone to the media causing severe embarrassment and bringing disrepute to the government,” the government order said.
Roopa’s husband and IAS officer Munish Moudgil has also been transferred from the survey and land records department to DPAR as principal secretary.
In a detailed Facebook post on Saturday, Roopa listed 20 allegations against Sindhuri, accusing her of corruption and sending “objectionable pictures to three IAS officers”.
Sharing the photographs of Sindhuri on her Facebook page on Sunday, Roopa wrote, “These types of pictures may seem normal but, what does it mean when a female IAS officer sends many such pictures one-to-one to not one, not two, but three male IAS officers? It cannot be her private matter. It is a crime according to IAS Service Conduct Rules. Any investigative agency can also investigate the authenticity of these pictures. Salon haircut images, the image taken while lying down on a pillow. It may seem normal to some. The context behind sending them speaks otherwise.”
Hitting back, Sindhuri termed the allegations defamatory in nature, and accused Roopa of acting out of personal hatred.
“Our services are different. I don’t know why she is targeting me by posting about my professional and personal life on social media. Officers have to maintain certain dignity and decorum,” Sindhuri said, adding that Roopa was suffering from “mental illness” and that she has been driving “false, personal vilification campaigns” against her, which is “her standard modus operandi”.
“Mental illness is a huge problem; it needs to be addressed by medication and counselling. When it affects people in responsible positions, it becomes all the more dangerous. Roopa IPS has been driving false, personal vilification campaigns against me, which is her standard modus operandi. She has done it in every place she has worked, including the current one, which is an ex-cadre post,” she added.
The two bureaucrats later approached the chief secretary.
In her complaint to the chief secretary, Sindhuri said that personal vendetta would become the order of the day if such behaviour were left unpunished and requested that action be taken, as per the All India Services Rules against Roopa.
Roopa, however, reiterated her allegations in the letter to the chief secretary and listed seven cases against Sindhuri.
“There was a preliminary enquiry report submitted to Government by Dr.Ravishankar, IAS in which the allegations against Rohini Sindhuri, IAS with respect to construction of swimming pool in Deputy Commissioner office premises at Mysore during Covid time when thousands were dying, and that too in heritage building where such kind of construction is not supposed to take place, has already been
tabled before the Government. When a preliminary enquiry is proved, the next logical step is to conduct a detailed disciplinary enquiry,” the letter read.
“In the Immovable property returns filed in the month of January 2023 for the year 2022 (January to December 2022) which is available in the website, she has not mentioned the huge house that she is building in Jalahalli which has been revealed through chat conversations wherein she also mentions that she has spent Rs.1 crore to Rs.2 crores on furniture brought from Italy, Rs.6,00,000/- on hinges for the doors (one door itself being 350 kgs as mentioned), Rs.26,00,000/- German appliances for which she has tried to get it duty free by using her influence on certain offices (there is a mention of Consul General, Frankfurt, 2005 batch officer in the chat conversations),” she alleged.
“There are allegations that for the Karnataka Bhavan being built in Tirupati in her native State at the TTD area, only for the architectural design, she has given Rs.10 crore order, for architectural design, to the Architect company, in her capacity as Endowments Commissioner, without calling tender which is a violation of Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements Act. Kindly investigate the said matter,” she further said.
Referring to a report by IAS officer Ravi Shankar on the construction of an illegal swimming pool at Sindhuri’s residence when she was the deputy commissioner of Mysuru in 2021, Roopa said Sindhuri was proven in the preliminary inquiry but no detailed probe was conducted.
Further, she alleged that Sindhuri had not mentioned details of a huge house allegedly being constructed in Jalahalli in the immovable property returns.
Roopa made the headlines in 2017 when she alleged that her senior officer in the prisons department was providing preferential treatment to then AIADMK leader VK Sasikala who was lodged in a Bengaluru prison. Sindhuri was recently in the news when singer Lucky Ali alleged that his property was encroached upon by some people with the assistance of Sindhuri. She denied the allegation.
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