Senior IPS officer D. Roopa, a 2000 batch IPS officer, who came to limelight after having a spat with Rohini Sindhuri, a 2009 batch IAS from Karnataka, will have to face trial in a criminal case for allegedly defaming IAS officer Rohini Sindhuri.
The Karnataka High Court has said that there are prima facie materials to proceed against Roopa for making various allegations made through posts on her private social media account on the professional and private life of Sindhuri.
The court also said that no sanction under Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.P.C) was necessary prior to taking cognisance of offence against Roopa as posts on Facebook and statements given to the print media “prima facie not being part of her official duty.”
Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum passed the order while dismissing a petition filed by Roopa, who had questioned the legality of orders passed by a metropolitan magistrate in March for issuing a summons to her after taking cognisance of offence on the private complaint lodged by Sindhuri.
The row between the two officers, which shocked the bureaucratic circle of the state, began on February 19 when Roopa levelled 19 allegations, including corruption charges, against Sindhuri. The next day, she shared seven photos of the IAS officer, accusing her of sharing them with three male IAS officers.
All the 19 allegations Roopa levelled against Rohini on Facebook Page:
- “There is an allegation that she has sent her not-so-decent pictures to many IAS officers. I got those pictures and it is not a private matter. According to All India Service conduct rules, it is a crime for senior officers to send pictures and have such conversations. We have to wait to see whether the government will investigate these allegations because the truth has to come out”.
- “Roopa has claimed that later IAS officer D K Ravi was a gentleman. The CBI report mentions his chats and Rohini could have blocked him as soon as things went out of hand. She did not block him permanently, and many others feel that not blocking him appeared to be encouraging him to move forward”. Roopa referred Rohini's suspected role in the alleged suicide of IAS officer, DK Ravi. It was alleged that Rohini was involved in an affair with DK Ravi. Though this could be dissed off as rumors,
- “A few months before D K Ravi's death, N Harish, a Kannadiga who was her batchmate, was also unmarried. He waited for her and he committed suicide. Although many people said the same, I did not believe it and I still do not believe it”.
- “Another alleged accusation is that, when Rohini became CEO of Mandya Zilla Panchayat, she was accused of fudging figures on construction of toilets, for which she received a central government award, but it was not investigated”.
- “When 24 people died in Chamarajanagar due to a lack of oxygen during the Covid-19 pandemic, the blame was placed squarely on her shoulders, but she managed to come out unscathed”.
- “Rohini Sindhuri got into an unnecessary fight with Kannadiga IAS officer Shilpa Nag. Shilpa had worked hard for the development of Mysuru as corporation commissioner, and journalists had written positively about her. Many people said that Rohini could not bear it and harassed Shilpa. Also, many others said that in Mysuru, Rohini said that journalists were supporting Shilpa Nag based on her caste and she created caste differences that were previously not there”.
- “Harsh Gupta is an honest IAS officer but Rohini fought with him as well. All other IAS officers know about this”.
- With IAS officer Manivannan when he was in the Labour department”.
- “She made many accusations against then minister Sa Ra Mahesh, but did not prove a single one. Is that why she went for mediation with him?”
- Rohini Sindhuri made allegations against Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha. She made a baseless allegation against him that he was going to private clinics and asking for oxygen for his own benefit. If it was true, why didn't she prove it”?
- “Rohini filed a case in the CAT (Central Administrative Tribunal) for transferring her within a year from Hassan. My husband, Munish Moudgil (IAS), wrote the application for that litigation. He wrote in front of me and sent it to her, her father and the lawyer. But how did she end up as Mysuru DC? Is it fair to single out Sharath, who was transferred to Mysuru as DC just 29 days earlier? Why is there no feeling for others? In 29 days, Sharath was replaced without any accusation and how was it possible and what high-level influence helped her get the transfer”?
- “In the preliminary inquiry by Dr Ravishankar, it has been proved wrong. Even though DC House in Mysuru is a heritage building, tiles have been laid there and a swimming pool has been built. Where is humanity while building a swimming pool when people are dying without oxygen during Covid? Nero was fiddling while Rome was burning. When Queen Marie Antoinette heard that people were dying without bread, she said, ‘let them eat cake'. I was reminded of that queen”.
- Earlier, someone who has worked in a social media agency for Rohini had texted me on WhatsApp saying that they create news, photos, videos about her. How do they create content for her and how do they handle trolls who post against her? I had posted it on Facebook”.
- “A complaint has been registered in the Lokayukta against her for selling cheap bags at a very high price and the Lokayukta officials have already written about it to the government to investigate it. However, permission to investigate her has been rejected without giving any reason and I have a copy of it. Do officers usually get this kind of support?”
- “Earlier, it was reported in the media that her brother-in-law Madhusudhan Reddy, along with 20-30 people, had gone to Lucky Ali's place and threatened him. Lucky Ali, a singer, had accused her of misusing her position. Can one take 20–30 people to the disputed land and take the law into your hands? Where does this kind of courage come from? By IAS authority?”
- “Her husband and her father-in-law (now deceased) run a real estate business. Through the survey and land records office, she has taken many land-related notes that are needed for family business. She has checked whether it is disputed land or whether it is worth buying, with documents obtained from the office misusing her IAS position. Will they take action against her? Let's see”.
- “Many times when government officials are transferred, it is natural for them to got CAT/court. After I worked for three years in distant Yadgir, I was transferred to Bengaluru in 2013. The officer I was to replace went to CAT questioning the transfer. However, the Advocate General himself came and argued for Rohini Sindhuri in the matter of Mysuru DC transfer. Why did I not get that facility? Kannadiga officers like me, no matter how they are treated, remain silent. The Advocate General himself appeared and argued for her and only this officer got this facility. Why is there a step-motherly attitude”?
- “Many people said that when she was in a probationary period, the DC of the neighbouring district and his wife separated because of her”.
- “She is building a big house in Jalahalli (even if her husband owns it, it will belong to her as well) and in her immovable property returns, which an IAS officer has to submit, there is no mention of this house, but there is a mention of her other properties. The government has the information from her chats about crores worth of Italian furniture, Rs 26 lakh worth of German appliances (there is talk about making them duty-free and Rs 6 lakhs spent only on door hinges) for that house. This should be thoroughly investigated. Despite all this, every time, someone saves her without investigating her. Is it okay to save her every time with no punishment? Or will the influential people in the government fall into her trap?”
Vivek Shukla is a management graduate who has worked in corporate worked for 20 years and is now pursuing his passion — news.
