I will not apologize to HN Satyanarayana Rao , says defiant Roopa Moudgil

Bengaluru: Reacting to a notice in which former DGP&IGP (Prisons) H.N. Satyanarayana Rao has demanded 'unconditional apology' for her bribery remarks, DIG D Roopa Moudgil, who recently took over as Commissioner for Traffic and Road Safety, has said that she would never do so and will stand by her claim.

“I have received the notice in which Rao has demanded an unconditional apology from me, to evade Rs 50 crore defamation lawsuit. My observation in the report is based on evidence. Why should I be apologising for speaking the truth? I am ready to appear before the court and prove myself,” Roopa told Deccan Chronicle.

Standing by her accusation of bribery against Rao, who according to her had received a kickback of Rs 2 crore to ensure special privileges to jailed AIADMK leader V.K.  Sasikala at Parappana Agrahara Central Prison, Roopa said there was enough prima facie material to prove my accusations.

“Besides a complaint with the Anti Corruption Bureau, the confession Australia-based NRI V.C. Prakash in connection with the Election Commission bribery case that he knew the jail officials and had facilitated a meeting between them and Sasikala on the kickback was another proof from where a lead has to be taken and a thorough investigation should be done,” she said.

In the notice dated July 16, Rao has denied all the allegations and sought a public apology from Roopa within three days of receiving the notice, failing in which he would file defamation suits, both civil and criminal, for Rs 50 crore.

“You had some axe to grind against Rao and to achieve the same you have made baseless allegations and to tarnish the image of my client. You claim that you have taken pictures of irregularities inside the prison. But you have not taken the picture of Sasikala's separate kitchen and other royal facilities, which are the prime subject of your allegations. You could not take pictures because nothing like that existed,”the notice stated.

Maintaining that the intention behind submitting the report was to set the things right, Roopa said, “I had submitted the internal report to him (Rao) and other concerned departments. My intention was to set the things right. Instead of siding with me and setting the things right. Rao, in turn, gave me memos and issued notices, and now defamation notices. This clearly shows on which side of the fence he is,” she said. Meanwhile, Rao's lawyer Puthige R Ramesh told DC that his client was preparing to file the defamation suit as he did not get any reaction from Roopa. DC repeatedly tried to contact Rao for his reaction, but he was not available.