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D Roopa, President Medal awardee IPS officer who has been transferred over 40 times in 20 yrs

IPS officer D Roopa, who was serving as Karnataka home secretary until Wednesday, was transferred after she publicly accused a senior officer of wrongdoing.

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New Delhi: If there is one thing D. Roopa has learnt in her 20 years of being an officer of the Indian Police Service (IPS) it is to always keep her bags packed and be ready for a transfer.

Her learning from two decades of service came handy Thursday when she was transferred to the Handicrafts Emporium as its managing director, days after she accused a senior IPS officer, Hemant Nimbalkar, of wrongdoing in the tendering process of the multi-crore Bengaluru Safe City Project last week. Roopa was serving as the home secretary, the first woman to hold the position in the state.

“Transfers are part of government job,” she tweeted hours after she was transferred Thursday. “I’ve been transferred more than double the times than the number of years of my career.”

Speaking to ThePrint, Roopa said while whistleblowing can be demoralising sometimes when others don’t speak up, it has become a part of her personality now.

“I think it is just a part of my personality to not put up with wrongdoing… It is just my nature,” she said in a telephonic conversation. “Many officers just want peace of mind so they avoid addressing an issue which might invite the wrath of the mighty and powerful … As for me, I am not averse to chaos and conflict, so long as I am on the right side of things.”

She added: “I also believe that bureaucrats who are in a position to act have to act. You cannot expect an outsider to change the system.”


Also read: ‘Shame on IPS Roopa’ trends on Twitter as spat over cracker ban leads to account suspension


‘My actions not motivated by politics, publicity’

Three years ago, Roopa made national headlines when she alleged that late Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa’s aide V.K. Sasikala, who was jailed after a disproportionate assets conviction, had struck a deal with officials at a Karnataka prison for preferential treatment. Roopa was slapped with a Rs 20-crore defamation suit over this.

In 2011, she took on a former chief minister of Karnataka when she removed a number of police vehicles being used in his cavalcade without permit. On several occasions, she was summoned to depose before the Karnataka council speaker after an MLC from Gadag moved a privilege motion against her. She had arrested him in 2006 on the grounds that prima facie he had incited riots.

“My actions have never been personally motivated. Some keep conjecturing that I’ll join politics someday, but no,” she said. “This is a chosen and prized service for me, and I’ll continue to remain an officer in the same Indian Police Service in the same uncompromising manner.”

On talk that her actions are motivated by wanting to stay in the limelight, she said, “To my critics who believe I want I do this for publicity, there are several gimmicks you can pull off to stay in the media glare… One need not take on the mighty and powerful for that, which is a path fraught with risks.”

The 2000-batch IPS officer has been awarded the President’s Police Medal twice, in 2016 and 2017.


Also read: IPS officer D. Roopa ‘vindicated’ as probe panel finds Sasikala treated like star at jail


‘Bureaucracy works in fear of transfers’

Delivering a Ted Talk in 2018, Roopa had said the bureaucracy gets chained up in phobias of transfers and politicians. “The day bureaucrats are able to come out of the phobia of transfers, the phobia of politicians, we will have the best bureaucracy in the world.”

She said officers are often transferred by politicians to teach the whole bureaucracy a lesson, but one must remember that officers of the All India Service get their powers to act in public interest from the same Constitution from which MPs and MLAs get their powers.

“For me posts are neither important, nor do I get too comfortable in any post. My bags are always packed.”

Roopa also said she has no plans to leaving the service. She had secured the 43rd rank in the UPSC exam in 2000. She is also trained in Bharatnatyam, and well-versed in Hindustani classical music — she even did playback singing for a Kannada film in 2019.

“My motivation and idealism are intact, I never lose hope,” she said.

“Officers keeping quiet to avoid transfers and staying in their comfort zone is unfair to the system,” said Roopa, who has spoken against the VVIP culture in India on several occasions.

“I will stay here, and neither compromise nor change … The fact that I can act in a manner that several people can’t is a gift of god. I won’t squander it by leaving.”

She added: “The way a common man identifies himself with me and makes my fight his fight is proof enough that I’m on the right track … That’s where the motivation to keep going comes from.”


Also read: Always followed rule of law, says Karnataka IPS officer D Roopa


 

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233 COMMENTS

  1. Wonderful Roopa Beti. You are the Proud of the Country. Go ahead with the same tempo. God bless you for future activities.
    From Professor Dr Khaja Moinuddin (Retired).

  2. Big salute to you Roopaji. Go ahead with your duty, the preyar and support from the general public is always with you.
    Warm regards.

  3. Madam it’s very paining that God trouble such a efficient and honest people. But you are supreme in God’s court. And definitely you will succeed in your deeds one day. God bless you.

  4. There ought to be law against premature transfer.
    If a Government Servant is unfit, incompetent or dishonest, proper enquiry must be conducted and that person dismissed/removed from service. Transfer, as such, is no remedy.
    This present dispensation must show courage and pass such a law.
    Otherwise, the saying, हमाम में सब नंगे हैं, will be true for Modi Sarkar too

  5. Hare Krsna Hare Krsna
    Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
    Hare Rama Hare Rama
    Rama Rama Hare Hare 🙏🙏🙏

    u r survent of suprime personality of godhead
    so don,t worry mam

  6. Madam, I have read a lot about your good works for our nation. But, our Politician are uneducated, CRIMINALS, RAPIST etc, etc.. U should trust in God, as he’s watching and keeping U under his shadow so that no harm is done to U. He’s going to STAND BESIDES U and Help U sail through the Storms. Be CONFIDENT don’t panic and loose your Focus, U R born to tackle big problems, I, know it hurts, but that’s for a little while u will get over it. Never bow down your love for the COUNTRY and it’s CITIZENS as only a few Good people like you, last on this on this earth. One of them is a IPS Officer Sanjeev Bhatt who is in jail in GUJRAT (for not handling the Godhra scandal to the likes of BILLA/RANGA ie: CHAIWALLA MODI and Amit Shah) I too support this person. Once again I say to you TRUST IN GOD for U are near and dear to him. Jai Hind.

  7. Please dont loose hope. We understand every bit of this issue. Most are going through similar shade of life in this country who fight evil.

  8. MD, Handicraft Emporium not a bad Job she can do Executive PGP/PGPX from reputed Institute. Later it will be useful for her. She can join Organizations which sells Defense Products. Because of Corruption there is no guarantee how long she will be able to survive.
    This is common in all kinds of Govt. Jobs. People feel irritated and disturbed while doing these Govt. Jobs. There is only one Human Life, . We must make best use of it.

  9. Karnatakas politics has gone to dogs . After learning her transfer I was very disappointed and still. The fact that she tweets about her fight against corruption is evident she needs public support but we are such low class democracy that fights over who should eat what but least bothered about corruption. I’m feeling so ashamed having to see this happen.

  10. Right going ma’am every honest person prouds on you , my best wishes from the core of my heart is with you . I want my daughter to be like you only
    Jai Hind
    Vande Mataram.

  11. I can’t tell you that you are good, but some questions always there why?? Transfer 40 times?? Are you the victim of some stupid mastermind??? Or are you the real culprit??? Leave it to to god …. Life is short… Do good, unless your god will repent you… Because you are not an thiest…. You have your religion vs corruption..,.. … Some day youngster will came and take the position… Let’s not teach them to inherit corruption. Because humans are not mortal.
    .

  12. I can’t tell you that you are good, but some questions always there why?? Transfer 40 times?? Are you the victim of some stupid mastermind??? Or are you the real culprit??? Leave it to to god …. Live is short… Do good, unless your god will repent you… Because you are not an thiest…. You have your religion vs corruption..,.. … Some day youngster will came and take the position… Let’s not teach them to inherit corruption. Because humans are not mortal
    .

  13. We salute you. You are what you stand up for. Satyame Jayathe. God bless you with the strength to fight the corrupt .
    Hope all your colleagues draw inspiration from you and join hands in teaching the high and mighty that the Law is Supreme. Jai Hind

  14. Namaste madam , do good work and best possible what do you think which is good for people and for government ok thanks for your good work from people ok Karnataka.

  15. You doing a great job, I salute you from the bottom of my heart, you should be a role model for other officers, were are other officers hiding ? Time for them to stand up and fight

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