Rs 620-cr CCTV project: Govt shunts out warring IPS duo
Additional Commissioner of Police Hemant Nimbalkar and Home Secretary D Roopa had traded serious charges in the media over Safe City project tender
BENGALURU:
Putting a stop to the controversial face-off between two senior IPS officers over the Rs 620-crore ‘Nirbhaya’, or Safe City, project, the state government has shunted out the warring duo – Additional Commissioner of Police (Administration) Hemant Nimbalkar and Home Secretary D Roopa – to other postings. The project, named after the victim of the horrific Delhi gangrape in 2012, aims to provide greater protection to women by covering all of Bengaluru city with CCTVs.
#BREAKINGNEWS
— Thebengalurulive/ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ಲೈವ್ (@bengalurulive_) December 31, 2020
To cover up #safeCityproject tenders, the #Nirbhaya project — state government has moved out #whistleblower #IPS #DRoopa and even the tender inviting authority chairman IPS #HemantNimbalkar from his post
.@D_Roopa_IPS #Bangalore #Bengaluru #Karnataka
While Nimbalkar, who was chairman of the tender inviting and scrutinizing committees for the project, had ‘cast the first stone’ by alleging that someone ‘impersonating’ the Home Secretary had sought confidential details on the tender, Roopa had countered by saying that it was she, in her capacity as Home Secretary, who had called the tender-preparing agency after learning of irregularities in the tender process.
No-holds-barred spat!
The state government’s damage-control response was expected as the charges and counter-charges between the IPS duo through various media platforms had gone on for several days.
On December 7, Nimbalkar had written to the state’s Chief secretary alleging that a ‘lady IPS officer’ had impersonated the Home Secretary and had called the project consultants, asking them to provide the RFP document. The state government had directed City Police Commissioner Kamal Pant to investigate the allegation and submit a report. Meanwhile, D Roopa stated that she called the project consultants in her capacity as Home Secretary and publicly demanded Nimbalkar’s removal from the project on the ground that he was an accused person in the mega-crore IMA ponzi scam. She described herself as a conscientious whistle-blower in the context of the Safe City project.
Subsequently, after getting a ‘clearance’ from his political bosses, Nimbalkar addressed the media and said that the entire tendering process had been transparent and there was no foulplay involved.
The verbal war between the IPS duo continued to such an extent that Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai had to direct the Chief Secretary to intervene and ‘warn’ both officers.
On Thursday evening, Nimbalkar was moved out of the post of Additional Commissioner (Administration) from the city police commissionerate and posted as IGP (Internal Security). Roopa was shunted to the low-profile post of Managing Director, Karnataka State Handicraft Development Corporation. 1993 batch IPS ADGP Malini Krishnamurthy has been posted in place of Roopa, while no posting has been made in place of Nimbalkar.
Read this: NO IMPERSONATION: IPS officer and Home Secretary D Roopa says it was she who called agency preparing tender for Rs 619-crore phase of Safe City Project https://thebengalurulive.com/no-impersonation-ips-officer-and-home-secretary-d-roopa-says-it-was-she-who-called-agency-preparing-tender-for-rs-619-crore-phase-of-safe-city-project/
Read this: Lady cop won’t take ‘impersonation’ taint lying down https://thebengalurulive.com/lady-cop-wont-take-impersonation-taint-lying-down/
Read this: Bengaluru safe city project row: Govt will look into the matter, says Home Minister https://thebengalurulive.com/bengaluru-safe-city-project-row-govt-will-look-into-the-matter-says-home-minister/
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