Moodbidri Police Inspector accused of sexual harassment; Panambur ACP to investigate
Mangaluru: The City Police Commissioner has directed the Mangaluru (North) Assistant Commissioner of Police to investigate a complaint filed by the wife of a man arrested by Moodbidri Police accusing the station inspector on grounds of sexual harassment.
The complainant’s husband has reportedly been arrested for embezzling money, with Moodbidri Police filing a case against him. The wife has now said that Moodbidri Police Station Inspector Sandesh BG told her that he would produce a rowdy-sheet against her husband unless she had sex with him and paid him Rs 25 lakh.
Several TV channels are also learned to have carried the news of her complaint on Monday. The officers of the State Women’s Commission, who noticed the news, reportedly approached the City Police Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy and requested him to get the matter probed.
Speaking to reporters, Reddy denied having received any complaint filed by a woman against the Moodbidri Inspector. “We will probe the matter and take immediate action upon receiving any such complaint. In the backdrop of the alleged complaint filed against the Moodbidri Inspector, I have directed Panambur ACP Shrikanth to investigate and submit a report. Immediate legal action will be taken as soon as we get the report,” he said.
The senior officer further said, “The complainant is not on good terms with her sister and has also accused the inspector of having been biased in favour of her sister. The matter is in court but we have taken no action against the inspector since he has been carrying out his duties diligently.”
The Commissioner also clarified that, while the woman showed a video clip of the Moodbidri Inspector jumping a wall, the Police Department is unable to take action until the owner of the house files a complaint in the matter.
Reddy added that the complainant had not produced any audio clip as evidence.
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No proposal to shift control of PU officials to Zilla Panchayats, says Minister
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka School Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa on Tuesday asserted that there is no proposal to transfer administrative control of Pre-University education officials to Zilla Panchayats.
The minister's clarification comes in the wake of lecturers threatening to boycott evaluation work over this reported move to shift control.
Reacting to this issue during zero hour of the state's legislative council, the minister said that he had already discussed the subject with legislators and stakeholders and clarified the government's stand. He also warned against pressure tactics such as boycotting the evaluation, stressing that it would harm students' interests.
"I clearly stated that there is no such proposal and we will not do it under any circumstances," Bangarappa said, reiterating that no government order had been issued in this regard.
The government has not taken any decision to shift administrative control of Deputy Directors of PU education to Zilla Panchayats, he added.
On pending dues, the minister said financial clearances have been obtained, and payments would be credited to lecturers' accounts "by around the 20th." The minister further said that resorting to a boycott call after discussions "amounts to acting against the interests of children," and urged teachers to resolve issues through dialogue.
"The welfare of students is paramount... laws and decisions must ultimately benefit children," he said, appealing to lecturers to reconsider their stand.
Earlier, Congress MLC Puttanna raised the issue, citing media reports that lecturers were opposing the move to bring PU colleges under Zilla Panchayats and that they had threatened to boycott evaluation work. He cautioned that such a move would lead to "interference from multiple levels" and "a decline in quality of education," besides creating administrative confusion.
Puttanna also urged the government to continue to maintain PU education's control under the education department and to immediately revise the evaluation honorarium, which he said had not been updated for three years. He demanded clearance of pending dues and timely payments henceforth.
JD(S) MLC Bhojegowda echoed similar concerns and sought the withdrawal of a proposed file on the issue. He also called for revision of lecturer-student ratios as per NCERT norms, restoration of the examination division under the PU Directorate, and withdrawal of orders affecting aided college lecturers.
Bhojegowda warned that if demands were not met, lecturers and staff were considering a statewide boycott of PU-II answer script evaluation and an indefinite protest in Bengaluru.
Reiterating the government's position, Bangarappa said discussions remained open but emphasised that "in the interest of children, we will not proceed with this."
