Bangalore Mirror: Bangalore: Sunday, January 14, 2018.
The firebrand
cop, who’s fighting a defamation suit, had sought info on status of her
complaint, copy of inquiry report on irregularities in the prison
Forget common
man, even a senior bureaucrat cannot get her way straight to access information
from the government. An RTI application from IPS officer D Roopa seeking
information of the status of her complaint and a copy of the inquiry report of
the alleged irregularities in central prison, has met with a ‘No’ for an
answer. The report has been submitted by retired IAS officer Vinay Kumar and is
yet to be made public by Home department.
Six months
after Inspector General of Police, Roopa blew the lid off the alleged bribery
scam in prison, looks like the government is buying more time. Roopa, who is
fighting a defamation suit for which she requires the status of the report as a
supplement, was appalled when the government rejected her RTI application and
denied information. Now, the officer is contesting the reply and going in for
an appeal.
In July,
Roopa, who was the then DIG prisons, sent the bureaucracy and the government in
a tizzy after she wrote to her boss DGP, prisons, HNS Rao and the then DG and
IGP RK Dutta about irregularities including drug abuse, preferential treatment
given to VIP prisoners, among others. In this case, it was alleged that the
jailed AIADMK leader VK Sasikala had paid a bribe of Rs 2 crore to prison
officials including Rao, in exchange for the privileges offered. The government
immediately transferred Roopa and sent Rao on leave. It constituted a one-man
committee headed by retired IAS Vinay Kumar to look into Roopa’s complaint and
submit a report. Simultaneously, Rao initiated a defamation suit against Roopa.
According to
sources, the report was submitted about three months ago but it is yet to be
made public. Sources also informed that some of the findings are in line with
what Roopa had complained of. “I am fighting the defamation case and I need
information from the government,” says Roopa. “Since the government has not
made the report public, I applied under RTI for information about the
conclusions in the report. Recently, I got a reply stating that the report
cannot be shared as it is under examination,’’ the officer told Bangalore
Mirror.
The senior
police officer is now preparing to contest the RTI with an appeal. “It is a fit
case for appeal. My first RTI was filed with undersecretary, prisons
department. Now, I will appeal to the deputy secretary and also apply directly
to the home minister’s office,” said Roopa.