BENGALURU, JULY 17 (KARNATAKA INFORMATION):
In its unrelenting pursuit of truth and justice, the Government of Karnataka has made consistent efforts to inquire into and act strictly upon cases of serious irregularities, in the larger public interest.
On receiving a report of allegations of irregularities in Bengaluru’s Parappana Agrahara Central Prison by Deputy Inspector General (Prisons) D Roopa, the Government of Karnataka immediately ordered a high-level inquiry into the case, to unearth facts. This decision was taken in view of the Government’s commitment to public interest, truth and justice. The Government was quick to institute an Inquiry Commission headed by retired IAS officer Vinay Kumar, asked to submit a preliminary report of findings within one week and a final comprehensive report looking into the details of allegations of irregularities within a month.
However, the public conduct after the DIG’s first report, and despite the immediate institution of inquiry, have not been in the spirit of officers abiding by service rules and protocol. Despite the inquiry being in process, the Deputy Inspector General (Prisons) D Roopa and her senior, Director General of Police (Prisons) H N Sathyanarayana Rao – went to the media to discuss the case. The interaction of both police officers with the media during the course of inquiry was unwarranted, and amounted to a serious violation of All India Services Conduct Rules.
In view of this violation, the Government issued show cause notice to both the officers. The subsequent visit by the concerned officers to Parappana Agrahara Central Prison witnessed disturbance emerging in the jail premises.
In order to maintain the sanctity of the inquiry process and safeguard it from further interference, the Government has asked the DGP (Prisons) H N Sathyanarayana Rao to proceed on leave, while DIG (Prisons) D Roopa has been transferred as Deputy Inspector General of Police and Commissioner for Traffic and Road Safety, Bengaluru. The Government is committed to allow the inquiry to proceed unhinged: so that evidence based truth emerges, following which necessary and strict action will be taken to bring the guilty to book, according to a press release by the Chief Minister’s Secretariat.
-DPM
