Woman sub-inspector attempts suicide
Bengaluru, DHNS: A woman police sub-inspector attempted suicide by consuming paracetamol and painkiller tablets at her Rajajinagar police quarters flat on Tuesday afternoon. Roopa Tambad, 34, attached to the Vijayanagar police station, was rushed to Suguna Hospital on Dr Rajkumar Road and her condition is stated to be stable. She is being treated at the ICU, said the police.
Preliminary investigation indicated that she took the extreme step after a heated argument with Vijayanagar police station inspector Sanjeev Gowda over an old case on Monday night.
Roopa was upset after she learnt about the adverse remarks entered by the inspector against her in the official diary. The inspector had objected to Roopa’s style of functioning and had stated that she did not follow senior officers’ instructions. She told her colleagues that Gowda was targeting her without any reason. Roopa had stated in her diary that she was leaving for the City Police Commissioner’s office and left the station, said the police.
Additional Commissioner of Police (West) Charan Reddy, who visited the hospital, said Roopa went straight to her flat and consumed the tablets. She was not in a position to talk when her husband Nataraj returned home at about 4 pm. He rushed her to the hospital, Reddy added.
Roopa and Gowda had an argument over a recovered cellphone that was misplaced. She was upset as Gowda claimed that she was in possession of the phone.
He also entered adverse remarks against her in the diary. “The police will go through the content of the diary and conduct an enquiry. We will also take a statement from her after she recovers,” Reddy said.
Roopa had recovered a cellphone from a man involved in a Pocso case about a month ago. He was arrested and sent to jail. He obtained bail and approached her on Monday seeking his cellphone. She told him that she had handed over the phone to Gowda.
The inspector summoned her and scolded her for cooking up a story. Roopa claimed that she had handed over the phone to the then ACP S K Umesh, one of her colleagues told DH. She did not meet Gowda though he summoned her four times. Gowda lost cool and entered adverse remarks against her, he added. She had moved a requisition two weeks ago seeking transfer to Basaveshwarnagar police station.
Suguna Hospital’s Dr Ravindra said that Roopa would be normal in the next 48 hours. “She consumed about 25 tablets. The doctors will send her blood sample to Mumbai for paracetamol detoxification test on Wednesday,” he said.
Roopa hails from Davanagere and had joined the police service in 2009. She was transferred to the Vijaynagar police station two years ago from the City Police Commissioner’s office. She is married to Nataraj, an advocate, and the couple have a three-year-old daughter.