The battle of the officers in Karnataka: Who are D Roopa and Rohini Sindhuri?

On Tuesday, the government transferred both officers without posting and served them notices. The government also directed them not to approach the media to raise any allegations against fellow officers.

D Roopa

Roopa, a 2000-batch IPS officer, is currently the Managing Director of Karnataka State Handicrafts Development Corporation Ltd (KSHDC).

She made headlines for the first time in 2004 when she arrested former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharti following a court order in a 1994 case. An arrest warrant had been issued against Bharti after she hoisted a flag at the Idgah Maidan in Dharwad on August 15, 1994, despite a curfew. Roopa was the Dharwad Superintendent of Police (SP) at the time. Following Bharti’s actions, a riot ensued and six people were killed in police firing.

Conferred with the President’s Police Medal for meritorious service in 2016, Roopa has grabbed headlines in recent years due to various controversies.

In July 2017, while posted as Deputy Inspector General of Police (Prisons), she accused her boss HN Sathyanarayana Rao of providing preferential treatment to former All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader V K Sasikala while she was serving her sentence in prison.

In a report, she alleged that around Rs 2 crore was paid to jail officials to provide all facilities to Sasikala. Rao lashed out at Roopa, demanding an explanation and evidence to back her allegations. Eventually, Roopa was transferred out of the Prisons Department and was posted as the Traffic and Road Safety Commissioner. That, however, did not deter her from filing a complaint against Rao with the now-defunct Anti-Corruption Bureau.

Three years later, in 2020, she was involved in a public spat with current Inspector General Police Hemanth Nimbalakar, who at the time was the Additional Commissioner of Police (Administration), Bengaluru City Police. Their dispute was connected to the Safe City Project. Nimbalkar wrote to the Chief Secretary to seek an inquiry against an IPS officer for attempting to gain classified information about a tender. After the government instituted a probe into the matter, Roopa accepted that she had called a project management consultant for the tender. However, she maintained that she was studying the tender file and had found serious irregularities. This triggered a row, prompting the state government to shunt out both officials.

Last June, Roopa and former KSHDC chairperson Beloor Raghavendra Shetty accused each other of irregularities and abusing power. Roopa alleged that CCTV cameras and the DVR at the KSHDC office were tampered with and Shetty had abused his powers and influenced the tender process to benefit his acquaintances.

Raghavendra Shetty retorted and filed a counter-complaint with the Chief Secretary, accusing Roopa of sitting on the proposals he had made to KSHDC in an 18-month period.

Rohini Sindhuri

Rohini Sindhuri is a 2009-batch IAS officer who was among the Deputy Commissioners (DCs) whom the Centre identified as exemplary performers in the implementation of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2015.

This was months after the suicide of IAS officer D K Ravi, a case in which Rohini’s name came up. Ravi allegedly sent her several text messages before his death. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigated the case and submitted a closure report in 2016, saying that Ravi died of “personal reasons”.

Sindhuri had run-ins with Congress leaders during her tenure as Hassan DC where she was posted in 2017. Among those she had altercations with was A Manju, who was the minister in charge of Hassan district at the time. Her transfer initiated in January 2018 was stalled by the Election Commission as the voter list verification was under process in various districts at the time.

After her transfer order was upheld in April 2018, Sindhuri moved the Karnataka High Court and succeeded in retaining her post. After the Congress-JD(S) coalition government came to power, the bureaucrat was moved out following a public disagreement with HD Revanna who was the minister of the Public Works Department.

Sindhuri then moved to Mysuru as the DC. There, she was accused of damaging the DC’s official residence by building a pool. The residence is a heritage building. KR Nagar MLA Sa Ra Mahesh also accused the IAS officer of purchasing sub-standard bags at an inflated price, which led to the state government ordering a probe against her last year.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Sindhuri was blamed as 24 people died in Chamarajanagar, which neighbours Mysuru, as she allegedly prevented oxygen cylinders from being transported there. But, the High Court and a state-appointed committee dismissed the allegations.

In December, singer Lucky Ali alleged that a property he owns in Bengaluru was “encroached upon illegally” by the land mafia with Sindhuri’s help. She denied the allegations and her brother-in-law Madhusudhan Reddy issued a statement saying he had documents to prove ownership of the disputed property.