IAS vs IPS: Sindhuri and Roopa battle it out

IPS officer D Roopa

IPS officer D Roopa Moudgil and IAS officer Rohini Sindhuri engaged in a bitter verbal spat, seen as an escalation in long-simmering tensions, after the former made allegations of corruption and inappropriate behaviour against the latter.

Roopa, currently serving as MD of Karnataka Handicrafts Development Corporation, even said that “none need to sympathise with a home breaker" without naming Sindhuri in one of her tweets on Sunday.

With the accusations going viral, Sindhuri said that “mental illness is a huge problem, it needs to be addressed by medication and counselling”.

The row began after photographs of Sindhuri, currently serving as the Commissioner of Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowment Department, and JD(S) MLA Sa Ra Mahesh sitting together in a restaurant surfaced in the media.

It made news as Mahesh had clashed with Sindhuri regularly when she was the DC of Mysuru.

Roopa, in a Facebook post on Saturday, shared a YouTube link titled ‘Rohini Sindhuri meeting with former Minister Sa Ra Mahesh’ and listed out 19 allegations on Sindhuri’s illegal acts and also accused her of sending personal pictures to other IAS officers.

The IPS officer even brought D K Ravi into the row, claiming that the late IAS officer was a gentleman. “The CBI report mentions his chats and Sindhuri could have blocked him as soon as things went out of control. She did not block him permanently, and many others feel that not blocking him appeared to be encouraging him to move forward.”

Roopa further added, “There is an allegation that she has sent her ‘not-so-decent pictures’ to many IAS officers. I got those pictures and it is not a private matter.”

Hours after Roopa’s allegations went viral, Sindhuri issued a media statement on Sunday and hit back at Roopa.

“Mental illness is a huge problem, it needs to be addressed by medication and counselling. When it affects people in responsible positions, it becomes all the more dangerous. Roopa IPS has been driving false, personal vilification campaigns against me which is her standard modus operandi. She has done it in every place she has worked, including the current one, which is an ex-cadre post," she said.

She also said the "photos are screenshots and picked from social media posts/WhatsApp status which are falsely being used to ‘scandalise me’. She can share the names of people she is alleging I have sent these pics and the same can be verified”.

Reacting to the war of words between the two women officers, the widow of Ravi tacitly remarked: “Karma will get back at you, sooner or later it surely will.”