Hell rained down on Karnataka prison official DIG (Prisons) D Roopa when she submitted a report to the DGP HN Satyanarayana Rao, claiming that AIADMK (Amma) chief VK Sasikala has been provided special privileges in Bengaluru’s Parappana Agrahara jail. Roopa had alleged that the AIADMK general secretary was enjoying a special kitchen, among other facilities, in exchange for a bribe of Rs 2 crore.

Denying all the allegations levied against the jail authorities, including Rao for taking the bribe and providing the facilities, the transferred Karnataka DGP claimed that the report was false.

Soon after Roopa’s report was made public, she was transferred to the traffic department as the Inspector General of Police and Commissioner for Traffic and Road Safety. Questions were raised about her ability to carry out her duties appropriately.

Now, she has to deal with a legal notice from Rao, who was also transferred from the prison during the probe. The transferred Karnataka DGP has demanded an apology from Roopa, to be published in leading newspapers. If she fails to do this within three days, civil and criminal proceedings will be initiated against her, along with a fine of Rs 50 crore.

The notice states, “You (D Roopa) are required to get an apology duly published in all leading newspapers in the next three days, failing which, I will be constrained to initiate appropriate legal proceedings both civil and criminal, against you to recover damages from you and the same is quantified as Rs 50 crore tentatively.”

Rao claimed the allegations have caused severe damage to his name, fame and integrity, apart from causing mental agony to him. He argued that if Roopa could take pictures elsewhere on prison premises, how she could she miss taking photos of a convict getting VIP treatment, such as setting up of a kitchen in her cell to get special food.

“The reason is obvious she could not take photos because the kitchen does not exist at all,” he claimed. Rao also said he would be approaching the income tax department to find out the “trail of Rs 2 crore”.

b’Roopa had claimed in her report that AIADMK (Amma) chief VK Sasikala had been getting preferential treatment in jail/PTI’

In her defence, Roopa said she had only “done her duty”. She urged the Anti-Corruption Bureau to take a lead from a confessional statement made by Australia-based NRI VC Prakash to the Delhi Police in connection with the election commission bribery case.

Prakash had confessed that he had helped in arranging meetings between the AIADMK party leaders, including Deputy General Secretary TTV Dhinakaran and Sasikala, inside Parapana Agrahara prison as he “knew some jail officials”. 

Prakash, who was till recently holding a minister of state rank in the government, also had confessed that he had helped Mallikarjun, to send Rs 2 crore to Delhi. 

With inputs from PTI

Feature image source: PTI