The tussle between the Chairman and the Managing Director of the Karnataka State Handicrafts Development Corporation (KSHDC), which has been ongoing for weeks, has intensified with the MD, D Roopa Moudgil IPS, levelling a series of allegations against chairman and BJP leader Beloor Raghavendra Shetty. The two often lock horns over the administration of the Corporation, but in a letter to the Chief Secretary dated Thursday, June 1, D Roopa has alleged that Shetty is guilty of “irregularities, abuse of power and misconduct” as the Chairman of the corporation.
In the 16-point letter, Roopa alleged that the CCTV cameras and DVR at the KSHDC head office were tampered with, and has alleged that Shetty was behind this for his own benefit. She also pointed out that tampering with government-owned CCTV cameras is an offence under the Information Technology Act.
She further alleged that several financial irregularities within the corporation have been noticed under Shetty’s tenure. “Every month, the corporation pays for Beloor Raghavendra Shetty’s salary, rent allowance, two Innova Crysta cars, petrol, four staff members and other such expenses worth Rs 5 lakh,” she claimed. To this, she alleged that he has charged Rs 1 crore to the corporation’s exchequer and that Shetty’s extra expenses were not logged into the official account. Further, she also accused Shetty of abusing his powers and allegedly trying to influence the awarding of tenders to his acquaintances.
She also brought up an Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the KSHDC that took place on May 27 this year. A video snippet of the meeting was widely circulated online a day before Roopa submitted her letter. In it, the meeting room looks tense and the members’ voices are raised, and Shetty can be heard saying that “if I end my life tomorrow, then Roopa alone would be responsible”. Roopa said that Shetty was “yelling for an hour”, and that attempted to pressurise her. Roopa walked out of the meeting after Shetty’s remarks. She sought consent from the Chief Secretary to lodge a complaint against Shetty’s suicide threat.
She also said in the letter that Shetty allegedly showed sexist behaviour in the office, and had even asked specifically for a woman personal secretary. However, the person who ended up becoming his secretary later, Srikanth Dundappa Chouri, was arrested on May 17, as he was accused of being involved in the recent police sub-inspector (PSI) recruitment scam.
Further, Roopa mentioned that Shetty had tried hard to reinstate the corporation’s general manager (finance), GK Kishor Kumar, who was removed from his post after he was found guilty in a Rs 25 crore scam. While his efforts were unsuccessful, Roopa alleged that Shetty had made negotiations of Rs 5 crore for Kishor Kumar’s reappointment. Roopa wanted Shetty to be held responsible for alleged acts of “looting money, abuse or illicit gain.”
However, Shetty has in the past levelled a few allegations against Roopa as well.
In a counter complaint to the Chief Secretary, Belur Raghavendra Shetty alleged that Roopa was involved in irregularities and responsible for causing a loss to the Corporation. Speaking to a media outlet, Raghavendra Shetty said that he had submitted around 50 proposals to the Board and none were implemented in the last one-and-a-half years. “I have served a lot of notices to her in this regard. She also does not attend office for more than two days a week and only comes for two hours a day. For the rest of the four days, she has the files brought to her office," he said.
Raghavendra Shetty also said that he had spoken to the Chief Secretary and he was assured by her that no complaint had been lodged against him. "She has told the media that she has lodged a complaint against me with the Chief Secretary, but it is a lie," he contended.
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