The Karnataka government on Friday issued notices to the Deputy Inspector General of Prisons D Roopa Moudgil, and the Director General for Prisons, Satyanarayana Rao, over the leaking of the DIG's report about AIADMK General Secretary Sasikala allegedly being given undue favours in prison.
The two officers have been involved in a very public battle over the report, that was leaked to the media. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah called it an 'unwarranted interaction of the two IPS officers with media' and tweeted saying that notices have been issues to both of them.
I have taken serious note of the unwarranted interaction of the two IPS officers with media in violation of Conduct Rules. Notices r issued.
— CM of Karnataka (@CMofKarnataka) July 14, 2017
Initial reports claimed that a notice was issued only to the DIG, Roopa, after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah named the officer while speaking to reporters in Mysuru.
"If there is evidence or documents related to violation of rules or corruption, the concerned official is free to bring it to the notice of his or her superior. Approaching the media with them is prohibited. That is why we have issued a notice to Roopa (Moudgil) for violating the rules," Siddaramaiah told reporters.
On the inquriy into the allegations that Roopa levelled against the prison's officials, the Chief Minister said if the charges were found to be true, action would be take against the guilty.
"The committee will be headed by retired IAS officer Vinay Kumar and file an interim report on the charges of bribery and other irregularities in the central jail in a week and the final report in a month," an official told IANS on condition of anonymity.
"The state Home Department has issued a notice to Moudgil, seeking an explanation on how her report on charges of corruption and irregularities in the central jail had reached the local news channels and media houses later on Wednesday night," the official said.
Roopa, however, denied sharing the report with the media or anyone.
"I have submitted the report to Director General of Police RK Dutta and have not shared or shown it to anyone. You have to find out how and from where the report reached the media," Roopa told reporters when asked about her response to the notice.
In the four-page report in Kannada, Roopa alleged that convict Sasikala had paid Rs 2 crore bribe to prison officials, and claimed that there were rumours that even the DG Prisons, HN Satyanarayana Rao, was bribed. In the report, she said that Sasikala got special privileges such as a special menu, special chefs and a special kitchen adjacent to her cell in the prison's women's ward.
"As I said before, I stand by my report. Let there be an inquiry into the charges and even on how it (report) reached the media. I have not discussed it with anyone. I will respond to the notice when I receive it," reiterated Roopa.
Sasikala, 59, is in the Parpanna Agrahara Central Jail since February 15 to serve a four-year sentence after she was found guilty and convicted by a trial court in Bengaluru in September 2014 in the two decades old disproportionate assets case of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. Though the Karnataka High Court had acquitted her, the Supreme Court on February 14, 2017 upheld the conviction and sentencing.
(With IANS inputs)