IPS officer files RTI on prison affairs plaint

Indian Express: Bengaluru: Sunday, December 17, 2017.

With no update on the status of her complaint filed with the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on prison affairs, senior IPS officer D Roopa has now filed a Right to Information (RTI) application seeking information.

Speaking to Express, Roopa said the ACB had not given her any information about the action taken on her complaint regarding alleged corruption at the Bengaluru Central Prison. After she filed the complaint, the ACB had initially refused to register an FIR.

“In the Lalitha Kumari vs Union of India, the Supreme Court had passed an order making it mandatory for police officers to register FIRs and start investigations. By not registering an FIR in my complaint, they have violated the SC order,” she said.

The state police claim to have a system wherein complainants are informed about the status of their complaints. But surprisingly in this case, the IPS officer herself has been forced to track the status of her complaint via the RTI route.

In July, Roopa kicked up a storm with a report highlighting irregularities and corruption in Bengaluru’s Parappana Agrahara Central Prison, where she reported that AIADMK leader V K Sasikala, who is serving a sentence in a disproportionate assets case, was given a separate cell with a kitchen after she allegedly paid a bribe of `2 crore to prison staff including the DGP Sathyanarayana Rao, who was her boss at that time.

She also stated that Abdul Karim Telgi, a convict in the fake stamp paper racket, had many privileges, including inmates who acted as personal aides. Later, Roopa was transferred as Inspector General of Police (IGP) and Commissioner for Traffic and Road Safety.

“I lodged a complaint with a detailed statement in August. In was 70-page report, I have mentioned everything including the money exchange, corruption and irregularities inside the prison. I felt this needed a deeper probe. Giving special facilities to Sasikala who is an ordinary prisoner, is a clear offence under Sec 13 (1)(c) of the Prevention of Corruption Act,’’ Roopa said.

When contacted, Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy said this had not come to his notice. “I will check the status,” he said.