Karnataka: Top cop D Roopa transferred after Sasikala jail expose

BENGALURU: The Karnataka government on Monday transferred Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Prisons D. Roopa, days after she charged convict AIADMK leader V.K. Sasikala with bribing officials for VIP treatment in the Bengaluru jail. The government also shunted out Director General of Police (Prisons) H.N. Satyanarayana Rao without a fresh posting as he is set to retire this month-end. Roopa and Rao were engaged in a public spat over the alleged privileges given to Sasikala. An order from the Department of Personnel said that Roopa, an Indian Police Service officer of the 2000 Karnataka batch), had been "transferred with immediate effect". She has been posted as DIG and Commissioner for Traffic and Road Safety in Bengaluru in place of A.S.N. Murthy, who will now be Additional Director of Police, Forest Cell, Bengaluru. N.S. Megharikh, IPS, Additional Director General of Police, Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Bengaluru, was also transferred and posted as Additional Director General of Police, Prisons, to succeed Satyanarayana Rao. Besides Roopa and Rao, Director General of Police (Intelligence) M.N. Reddi has been transferred as DGP of Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in place of Megharikh while Amit Paul, IGP, Intelligence, will hold additional charge of DGP, Intelligence, in Bengaluru. The transfers and new postings of Rao and Roopa came on a day when an one-man inquiry committee, headed by retired IAS officer Vinay Kumar, was to begin probe into the charges of corruption and irregularities in the city's central jail. After Roopa submitted two reports to the government on the illegal activities, including supply of narcotic drugs, gambling and drinking by the convicts and others in the prison, Rao submitted a report on Sunday countering his deputy's charges. Roopa had alleged that Sasikala, jailed for corruption, was getting special privileges as she had bribed senior officials. Rao denied the charges.