Prison fracas: top cops Rao, Roopa shunted out

The government on Monday cracked the whip on senior IPS officials in charge of prisons and intelligence. The home department has sent Director General of Police (Prisons) H N Sathyanaranaya Rao on leave, and taken away prison responsibilities from Deputy Inspector General of Police (Prisons) Roopa and Chief Jail Superintendent Krishna Kumar.

Roopa was pitted against Rao and Kumar in a public spat soon after she filed a report alleging irregularities at the Parappana Agrahara central jail in Bengaluru. Her main charge was that her boss was providing special privileges, including a cook and a fully furnished office, for convicted Tamil Nadu politician V K Sasikala.

Chief of Intelligence M N Reddi was shown the door for his failure to gather Intelligence on the recent violence in the Mangaluru region, and the demonstrations at prisons across the state for and against top prison officials. He is now additional director general of police, Anti-Corruption Bureau.

Rao has just a couple of weeks to retire, and is therefore unlikely to be given any posting. His deputy Roopa is now deputy inspector general and commissioner for traffic and road safety, Bengaluru, in place of additional director general of police A S N Murthy. The home department has also transferred Kumar without any posting. His deputy Anitha R now holds additional charge.

Inquiry begins
Former IAS officer Vinay Kumar began his inquiry on Monday. He will look into the alleged irregularities at the central prison, based on Roopa’s report.