Karnataka: Fight between two women officers turns ugly as 'private pictures' posted on Facebook; govt rushes for damage control

The Karnataka administration was taken aback by a public dispute between two senior women officers, leaving the Basavaraj Bommai government unsure of how to react.

Today, State Home Minister Araga Jnanendra expressed his displeasure and threatened action against the officers, citing their "bad behaviour".

𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱

D Roopa Moudgil, an IPS officer, posted personal pictures of Rohini Sindhuri, an IAS officer, on social media on Sunday. She alleged that Rohini Sindhuri had breached service conduct regulations by sending her photos to male IAS officers. On her Facebook page, D Roopa uploaded the photos and accused Sindhuri of distributing them to three IAS officers in 2021 and 2022.

The day prior, D Roopa had made a detailed list of corruption allegations against Sindhuri and reported the matter to Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Chief Secretary Vandita Sharma.

𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗶 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 "𝗳𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗲, 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘃𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗻"

In a statement on Sunday, Sindhuri expressed her anger and stated that D Roopa was pursuing a "false, personal vilification campaign" against her, and warned of potential consequences.

"She collected photos from social media and screenshots of (my) WhatsApp status to defame me. As she has alleged that I sent these pictures to some officials, I urge her to reveal their names," Sindhuri said.

Whill hitting out at her adversary, Sindhuri referred to "mental illness".

"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," Sindhuri claimed.

𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘀: 𝗞'𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗮 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿

According to the Karnataka Home Minister, he had spoken to the police chief about the dispute, and the Chief Minister was also informed of the matter.

"We are not sitting quiet, action will be taken against them. They both are behaving in such a bad way - not even normal people speak on the streets like this. Let them do whatever they want on their personal issues, but coming before the media and behaving the way they are is not right," the Karnataka HM said.

D Roopa currently holds the position of Managing Director at the Karnataka Handicrafts Development Corporation, whereas Sindhuri serves as the Commissioner of the Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowment Department.

𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗶'𝘀 𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗝𝗗𝗦 𝗠𝗟𝗔 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗿𝗼𝘄

The dispute allegedly originated when pictures of Sindhuri and Janata Dal Secular MLA Sa Ra Mahesh dining together in a restaurant became widespread. The two women officers had several public quarrels over allegations of corruption during Sindhuri's tenure in Mysuru in 2021.

D Roopa raised concerns about why an IAS officer would have a meeting with a politician and insinuated that the two had made a deal.

Sindhuri dismissed the accusation.

The intense argument between the two officials has created a stir in bureaucratic circles. Yesterday, Chief Minister Bommai regarded it as a "personal matter," but as the conflict worsens, some speculate that he may have to intervene.