Roopa Moudgil (Right) shared on her Facebook page seven pictures of Rohini Sindhuri (Left).
A public squabble between two senior women officers has shocked many in the Karnataka administration and has left the Basavaraj Bommai government at a loss for a response.
State Home Minister Araga Jnanendra today warned action, furious at what he called the "bad behaviour" of two officers.
On Sunday, D Roopa Moudgil, an IPS (Indian Police Service) officer, shared private photos of an IAS (Indian Administrative Service) officer, Rohini Sindhuri, on social media. She claimed that Rohini Sindhuri had violated service conduct rules by sending her photos to male IAS officers.
D Roopa posted the images on her Facebook page and alleged that Ms Sindhuri had shared them with three IAS officers in 2021 and 2022.
The day before, D Roopa had put out a long list of corruption accusations against Ms Sindhuri. She claimed she had also complained to Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Chief Secretary Vandita Sharma.
Enraged, Ms Sindhuri said in a statement on Sunday that D Roopa was driving a "false, personal vilification campaign" against her and threatened action.
"She collected photos from social media and screenshots of (my) WhatsApp status to defame me. As she has alleged that I sent these pictures to some officials, I urge her to reveal their names," Ms Sindhuri said.
She even referred to "mental illness" while hitting out at her adversary.
"Mental illness is a huge problem, it needs to be addressed by medication and counselling. When it affects people in responsible positions, it becomes all the more dangerous. Roopa IPS has been driving false, personal vilification campaigns against me which is her standard modus operandi," she alleged.
The Karnataka Home Minister said he had discussed the row with the police chief and the Chief Minister was also aware.
"We are not sitting quiet, action will be taken against them. They both are behaving in such a bad way - not even normal people speak on the streets like this. Let them do whatever they want on their personal issues, but coming before the media and behaving the way they are is not right," Mr Jnanendra said.
D Roopa is Managing Director of the Karnataka Handicrafts Development Corporation and Ms Sindhuri is the Commissioner of the Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowment Department.
The feud reportedly started when images of Ms Sindhuri sitting with Janata Dal Secular MLA Sa Ra Mahesh in a restaurant recently went viral. The two had several public fights accusing each other of corruption when Ms Sindhuri was posted in Mysuru in 2021.
D Roopa questioned why an IAS meet officer would meet a politician and suggested that the two had struck a deal.
Ms Sindhuri rubbished the charge.
The virulent exchange between the two officers has caused a flurry in the bureaucratic circles. Yesterday, Chief Minister Bommai called it a "personal matter", but with the fight getting uglier, many believe he may need to intervene.