The chat room: Good intentions or bad, Roopa's was an act of courage

Corruption in the prison system, brought to light by senior IPS officer Roopa Moudgil, has thrown the state police force into disrepute. While her allegations unearthed bribes, preferential treatment for influential prisoners like Sasikala and Telgi, the fake stamp paper kingpin, proved beyond doubt her courage. Despite the transfer orders that followed, DIG Roopa Moudgil is a hero in the eyes of the people. But why now?  Amol Walvekar and Yash Sachdev talk to Joyeeta Chakravorty about whistleblowers within a rigorous, often corrupt hierarchy.

DIG Roopa Moudgil, whose scathing allegations exposed the corruption in Karnataka prisons, is being widely lauded for her forthrightness. There have even been calls for laws to protect whistleblowers - Moudgil was transferred after going public with her claims. Worthy though her actions might be, they do beg the question: What brought about this sudden attack of conscience? DIG Roopa Moudgil did the right thing, there's no doubt about that, but did she do so for the right reasons? And does that matter, in the larger scheme of things? Amol Walvekar and his friend, Yash Sachdev, two young Bengalureans sank their teeth into the matter. 

"There is a back story to this; preferential treatment is given to a few prisoners and she is trying to tackle the problem," said 22-year-old Amol, adding, "She did a brave thing by approaching the media. The average citizen doesn't have an adequate understanding of the nitty-gritties of the civil services to know whether it was right or wrong. Either way, it was brave." 

In her controversial report, Moudgil claimed that a bribe of Rs 2 crore had been paid by Sasikala to senior prison officials, including the Director Central of Prisons, H.N. Satyanarayana Rao, in return for privileges. The government, following due legal procedure has issued showcause notices to Rao (DG, Prisons) and Moudgil, DIG (Prisons) for violating the code of conduct and speaking to the media regarding allegations against a fellow officer. "They claim the decision is administrative," Yash Sachdev contests hotly. "However, it has been understood that officers face a lot of harrassment when it comes to reporting VIP privileges through the official hierarchy. We've even seen cases of suicide amongst top civil servants over the last couple of years," stresses the 24-year-old. 

It is a point of note. Amol jumps in too, saying, "The government called it an administrative move but didn't substantiate. Isn't that telling? The government's role should be as simple as giving citizens its safety net. Perhaps the government's role deserves another look; they should be allowed to intervene only during a crisis!" 

Both men agree that the issue is larger than its specifics. "The longterm solution cannot be reduced to a single case, not Sasikala, Telgi or Rao. There are hundreds of prisoners who should receive the same treatment. Beating that kind of ingrained corruption is the real battle," Amol remarks. 

"I agree. We should be using this to come up with feasible, long term solutions, instead of attempting to turn it into a media sensation," Yash says, adding that he supports Moudgil's decision to write a no-nonsense letter to her boss, DG (Prisons), about the special kitchen for Sasikala and special privileges for Abdul Karim Telgi, too."