The report of an independent inquiry committee has confirmed Indian Police Service (IPS) officer D Roopa Moudgil’s charges that V K Sasikala had received preferential treatment as an inmate of the Parappana Agrahara central prison in Bengaluru. The contents of the probe report submitted in 2017 have come to light recently.

In conversation with Vijay Karnataka , D Roopa said that like a common person, she asked the government for a copy of the inquiry report through an RTI, but was denied. Finally, she appealed to the information commission and argued that she is not the third party but the first party to the information as the committee was set up to investigate the issues raised by her when she was DIG (Prisons). She adds that this was not a matter of national security, but that of corruption and needed to be dealt with in a transparent manner. With this as her main argument, the information commission ordered the government to give her the report. Excerpts :

This isn’t the first time that you are raising your voice on irregularities. Earlier, you withdrew the unauthorized orderlies and escort vehicles deployed for prominent ministers. It appears that every run-in has been met with the same result - transfer. You have been transferred over 40 times in your service, is this the fate of every firebrand officer?

Transfer is a part of a government job and I am not affected by it. At times, it is disappointing because you’ve put in a lot of effort and often taken risks and in between you are transferred. In the present case, I had legal recourse and could question the transfer order of the government. However, I did not pursue that as I did not have any vested interests and chose to work wherever I was posted by the government.

Since you were dealing with a certain high-profile prisoner, what were your thoughts while collecting evidence to support your report?

I reported what I saw. There was no thought on the profile of the person as I strongly believe that the evidence remains same for all, irrespective of the profile.

Has your husband felt any downside?

My husband was a source of strength during the testing times and the pressure was augmented by threatening statements from various groups. While my colleagues remained mute spectators through all this, my husband constantly stood by my side and this helped me pursue my cause. Without his support, I might not have gone to this extent.

Do politicians get in touch with you to exert pressure? How do you handle them?

Politicians are not all bad. Many of them understand the implications surrounding contravention of laws. I remain undeterred by pressure from politicians. As an officer, I remain focused on upholding the law of the land. Yes, the transfer orders or defamation notices that I faced were disconcerting at times. However, I believe that these are occupational risks and officers should not hesitate and must face them boldly.

How do you respond to Sasikala’s lawyer accusing you of defaming the AIADMK leader intentionally and threatening legal action?

The independent inquiry report includes whatever I had said in my own report and speaks volumes.

Read this story in Kannada

