VVIP treatment to Sasikala: Bengaluru jail probe just eyewash?

Bengaluru: Has the  Anti Corruption Bureau closed a case on corruption  and VVIP treatment extended to jail inmates in Bengaluru central jail at Parappana Agrahara before the state government could take a final call on the report of Vinay Kumar Commission that had examined the issue and recommended a fresh inquiry?

Nearly four months after the report was submitted to the government, the state government accepted the report on Feb. 26 and a sheet containing the information on the Vinay Kumar report was released to the media on March 1. According to the information shared with media, a fresh inquiry should be ordered against Krishna Kumar and Anitha, two prisons officials who were accused of extending VVIP treatment to Sasikala. The committee, according to the information shared with the media, also recommended a separate inquiry on alleged bribery by the Anti-Corruption Bureau.

Instead of doing so, the ACB closed the case and an order to this effect was issued on January 12. The then DIG (prisons) D. Roopa had made allegations of corruption and VVIP treatment in Bengaluru prisons. She prepared a detailed report on the charges and submitted it to home department, DG&IG and ACB. The ACB that inquired the matter also recorded her statement last year on August 19 vis-a-vis the corruption and VVIP treatment case. Finally, in January, Superintendent Kala Krishnaswamy issued an order closing the case saying, “During the investigations, no evidences supporting the allegations made by Ms Roopa. The case was closed."