Daijiworld Media Network - Ballari (SP)
Ballari, Jan 22: Kudligi deputy superintendent of police (DySP), Anupama Shenoy, who hails from Mangaluru, has been reportedly transferred all of a sudden at the instance of state labour minister Parameshwar Naik, allegedly because she could not wait long enough for him to come on phone.
It is gathered that on January 18, Anupama received a call made by an associate of the minister, who told the officer that the minister would be talking to her, duly asking her to put the phone on hold. Although she held the phone for sometime, no one spoke from the other side. While she was waiting, she received a call from district superintendent of police (SP) Chetan. She cut the minister's call and received the one from her superior. She then got another call from the minister who started blasting her for not waiting for him.
Sources said that the minister upbraided the DySP, wanting to know whether she does not have the courtesy to wait to speak to the minister. He also asked whether the SP was superior to a minister. He told her that he would show her who has more power, a minister of a SP. Sources said he got in touch with the home minister, and got Anupama transferred to Athani in Belagavi district. The order was thereafter modified, and she was posted to Indi in Vijayapura district, it is said.
It is said that minister Parameshwar Naik had got deputy director of food and civil supplies department here transferred for failing to follow his directions sometime back.
The minister, however, speaking on Thursday January 21, sought to dismiss allegations against him as speculative. "It is true that I had called the DySP concerned. But there were no exchange of hot words between us. She might have been transferred in the interest of administrative convenience. The charge that I got her transferred is baseless. I am also not aware about she having been transferred twice in a matter of two days. People who do not get anything to point fingers at me seem to have found this silly allegation in their efforts to tarnish my image," he responded.
Meanwhile, various organizations led a protest at Kudligi as well as Ujjaini near Kottur in the district on Thursday, against the sudden transfer of DySP Anupama Shenoy. The protesters asked the government to take back the transfer orders of the police officer.
Protesters took out a procession through Kudligi town after coming together near Mahatma Gandhi Memorial. They raised slogans against district in-charge minister P T Parameshwara Naik, as well as the government. They then crowded the tahsildar's office premises and continued to hold protest.
District president of Raita Sangha, Devaramani Mahesh, hailed Shenoy for crushing illegal sand business, illegal liquor trade, gambling and other anti-social activities in the taluk. Criticizing the concerned for transferring her on silly pretext, he warned to carry out stronger measures of protest if their demand to retain her was not met. Various leaders including district BJP president, K M Tippeswamy and Kakkuppi Mahadevappa Babu Naik of Raita Sangha submitted a memorandum to the government to that affect through the tahsildar.
Director general of police, Omprakash, however, said that Shenoy had been deputed on office duty and not transferred to Indi. He said that this is a part of the process being made to place efficient officers to sensitive areas in view of upcoming zilla and taluk panchayat elections. He said that was just an administrative decision, duly adding that if she was to be transferred, a decision to that affect would have to be taken at Police Establishment Board.