Two senior women bureaucrats indulge in public spat in K'taka, Govt warns action
Bengaluru, Feb 20: With two senior women bureaucrats indulging in a public spat, Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra on Monday expressed displeasure against their conduct, and warned action, citing service rule violation.
The Minister was referring to the exchanges between Karnataka State Handicrafts Development Corporation Managing Director D Roopa, an IPS officer, and IAS officer Rohini Sindhuri, Muzrai Department Commissioner.
''We are not sitting quiet, action will be taken against them. They both are behaving in such a bad way that not even normal people speak on the streets. Let them do whatever on their personal issues, but coming before the media and behaving in a way they are doing is not right,'' Jnanendra said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, people see IAS and IPS officers with high respect, but looking at their behaviour and conduct, they are causing disrespect and humiliation to civil services officers.
''We have good officials of high ranking, they are the ones who run the state and the country, but a few such people are bringing a bad name to the whole of the official class, they have to be punished. I have spoken to DG (Director General of Police) and will be speaking to the CS (Chief Secretary); the Chief Minister is also aware of it,'' he added.
Roopa has taken to social media alleging several ''wrongdoings'' of Sindhuri. She also made personal remarks, accusing Sindhuri of misconduct and released personal pictures of her alleging that it was shared by her with a few male officers. Terming the allegations as baseless, Sindhuri alleged that Roopa, who holds a responsible position, is making such comments against her out of personal hatred, and was behaving as if she had lost her mental balance.
The two have accused each other of violating the Civil Services Conduct rules, and that they had brought it to the notice of the appropriate authorities.
Sindhuri has said that she will take legal and other actions with appropriate authorities for Roopa's actions amounting to misconduct and criminal offences under various sections of the Indian Penal Code.
Noting that the officers are bound by conduct rules, Jnanendra said, ''already they were warned in the past and as they are not stopping, the government will consider taking strict measures.'' ''They have taken names of certain Ministers and the government, the Chief Minister is aware of all this, and he will take a strict decision'', he added.
Earlier too, both officials had indulged in a public spat, and had been involved in controversies separately too in their official capacities.
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B'luru: "Least priority, shifted late," says brother of patient who died in Ramaiah hospital fire
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Bengaluru: Hours after a fire broke out at the Critical Care Unit (CCU) of the MS Ramaiah Memorial Hospital on New BEL Road on Thursday, a 34-year-old patient, Sujay Sujathan Panicker, tragically passed away. His family has accused the hospital authorities of negligence, which they claim led to his death.
The fire at Ramaiah Memorial Hospital is believed to have been caused by a short circuit. Initial reports suggested that there were no casualties in the incident.
Sujay, originally from Kollam in Kerala, had been residing in Bengaluru with his family since 2004. He was undergoing treatment for pneumonia, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), and H1N1 since September 1 at the hospital.
Sujay's wife and father released a video accusing the hospital of negligence. In the video, his wife, Rohini Jayan, alleged that the hospital authorities took no action against those responsible for the fire.
Sujay’s brother, Sujin Sujathan Panicker, speaking to Vartha Bharathi, detailed the family’s ordeal. He said that despite his sister-in-law requesting assistance during the chaos, the hospital staff pushed her away, assuring her that all patients had been safely evacuated to the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU). However, Sujin claims that his sister-in-law did not see Sujay being shifted.
He further stated, “Sometime later, when a doctor arrived, she (Rohini) inquired about Sujay. It was only after the doctor questioned the staff that they rushed to evacuate him.”
Sujin added that by the time his brother was evacuated, 50 minutes had already passed since the fire broke out. "He was still inside, while all the other patients were taken out first. He was admitted to the hospital with a respiratory illness, yet he was given the least priority during the chaos. He was the last one to be evacuated."
He also claimed that Rohini had already noticed that Sujay’s condition had deteriorated and believed he had passed away, though the hospital authorities did not officially declare his death.
Sujin further stated that the hospital authorities called him and his father to the board room at the 8th floor of the hospital, where senior executives and doctors who had treated Sujay were present “During the interaction they (hospital authorities) claimed that Sujay was still alive and that his condition had worsened amid the smoke and that his chances of survival were less, which was not true.”
"Despite staff being present to evacuate my brother, they remained negligent. The fire broke out at 1:00 p.m., so why did it take 50 minutes to get him out? He was in a corner bed in the CCU, and it seemed they either overlooked the room or ignored it. Even after repeated requests, it took them 50 minutes to evacuate him," Sujin added.
Sujin also expressed concerns that the hospital authorities might attempt to influence the investigation. "They can influence anyone—any hospital, any report."
At the time of the interview, Sujin stated that neither anyone from the government nor from the health department had contacted the family.
A complaint has been filed in connection with the incident at the Sadashivanagar police station. "The statements of the family members have been recorded, and an investigation into the matter is underway. An FIR has been lodged under Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) Section 106 (causing death due to negligence)," said Sadashivanagar police station Sub-Inspector.
Meanwhile, officials from Ramaiah Memorial Hospital were unavailable for comment.
