Karnataka government forces honest Deputy Superitendent of Police Anupama Shenoy to quit. She blamed the ‘liquor lobby’ for her resignation and slammed Siddaramaiah’s government as ‘Rum’ Rajya
R Guruprasad
The Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in Karnataka is once again in news for all the wrong reasons. After receiving flak from various quarters for giving room for police to think of protest (the police force especially the lower rung officials and constabulary had planned for a massive protest on June 5 citing lack of facilities and harassment from senior officials and ministers; however, the protest was withdrawn at the last minute) is now in soup for harassing a lady deputy Superintendent of Police and forcing her to resign. The main accused in the whole episode is none other than Labour Minister PT Parameshwar Naik and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
On June 4, 2016, Anupama Shenoy resigned from her post as Kudligi Deputy SP citing political pressure. The honest lady officer had sent 18 people to jail. However, her subordinates under the instructions from the Labour Minister had let out all the accused from jail even without informing her. This saddened the police officer who decided enough was enough and decided to hang her boots. Daughter of a small canteen owner from coastal Karnataka had begun her career as a lecturer. After clearing the Karnataka Administrative Services (KAS) exam, Anupama had done her probationary at Kodagu district and then had her first posting as DySP at Kudligi in Ballari district since 2014.
As a number of illegal liquor shops were being run in Kudligi and Sandur taluks of Ballari district, she decided to take on the liquor lobby head on. She decided to raid those illegal shops between November 16, 2015 and January 5, 2016 by filing 16 cases. However, the liquor lobby was so powerful that using their resources from the Siddaramiaah Government, they decided to get the arrested men freed in no time. This clearly unsettled Anupama who decided to resign from her post.
In fact, this is not the first time, Anupama is being targeted by the government machinery. On January 18 this year, Anupama had received a call from Ballari district in charge minister Parameshwar Naik and Anupama was shunted to Indi division (Vijayapura district) the very next day as she had put the minister's call on hold. In fact, the Minister had publicly acknowledged of using his power to transfer an official who had dared to put his call on hold. However, following a huge public outcry, the government was forced to cancel the transfer on February 1.
On June 4, Anupama had taken three people into preventive custody on charges that the liquor shop’s extension had blocked the way to Ambedkar Bhavan. She had asked the bar owner to stop all the works until the survey was concluded. Following pressure from the liquor lobby and the release of the detainees, an upset Anupama had resigned from the post. Following her resignation, she decided to take the social media route to target the politicians for playing with lives of honest police officials.
Meanwhile, Karnataka unit BJP President B S Yeddyurappa had questioned Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s silence over the whole matter. Yeddyurappa, in a statement in Bengaluru, charged that the mental agony perpetrated by Congress workers on Anupama Shenoy had the silent nod of the Congress government in general and Chief Minister in particular.
The former Chief Minister said the ‘silence’ of the Siddaramiah government reflects its ‘innate allergy’ and hate towards sincere and efficient officers. He alleged that the episode started with Labour Minister Parameshwar Naik who got the woman police officer shunted out six months ago on flimsy grounds. The Chief Minister and Home Minister did not defend her or take Naik to task. Instead they stood by him and transferred her, thus creating a demoralising environment, he contended.
Recalling the Upa Lokayukta Subash Adi controversy, he said the CM and his party workers had created a situation of helplessness for Anupama, forcing her to resign in disgust. “It may be recalled that the government humiliated as well as tried to cast aspersions on Justice Subhash Adi, Upa Lokayukta. But the panel constituted by the High Court royally slapped and snubbed the Congress government,” he said.
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