Bangalore: A senior Karnataka Police officer who retired recently is extremely upset with what is now happening in his former department. He said, "The situation has never been so bad. The Karnataka police has now become a national joke. We have lost respect and credibility. Top cops are fighting like school children. Caste politics has also added to their woes. The government is sleeping. If it does not wake up, the situation may take dangerous turns and anti-social elements may take advantage of the situation."
His strong words sum up everything that is wrong with the Police force in Karnataka. A public fight between the Commissioner of Police, Bangalore Raghavendra Auradkar and Additional Director General of Police Dr. P Ravindranath seems to have completely tarnished the image of the police.
Ravindranath is accused of clicking the pictures of a young woman at a Coffee Shop in up market Cunningham Road in Bangalore on last Monday. He was caught and allegedly thrashed by a customer and later handed over to the Police. He is also charged with attacking the cousin of the complainant and intimidating her.
Later he resigned asking the government to conduct a fair probe. But, the state government refused to accept his resignation and ordered a Crime Investigation Department (CID) probe into the whole affair.
The whole incident took a new turn after Ravindranath accused Commissioner of Police, Bangalore of implicating him in this case. Ravindranath maintains that Raghavendra Auradkar had been nursing a grudge against him for a long time and laid a trap to tarnish his image.
Ravindranath claims that Auradkar fears that he might succeed him as Commissioner of Police and to prevent that he has done this. But, Auradkar has dismissed all these charges as baseless and motivated.
Raghavendra Auradkar has a clean image and widely respected for his gentleman behaviour. He has also earned a lot good name in his earlier postings as SP, DIG and IGP across Karnataka.
Many of his colleagues claim that he is being targeted for his clean image. They demand that the government must protect his honour by standing by his side. He is also the junior most ADGP rank officer to occupy the coveted post of Bangalore Commissioner of Police.
What is alarming is the deafening silence of the state government, mainly that of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's. The Director General of Police (DGP) L R Pachau is also accused of doing nothing to prevent this incident from going out of control.
LR Pachau, the senior most police officer in the state, is considered a light weight and not known for administrative skills or leadership abilities. Many IPS officers complain that there is a total disconnect between him and the top leadership of the Police department.
Another senior IPS officer said, "The DGP is a good human being. That's it. He does nothing and the morale of the Police department is so low. We really don't know what is happening. Instead of cracking the whip and taking some stern action in the recent incident, he chose to remain silent. It has sent a wrong message across the state. Eiether he must act or quit."
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Home Minister KJ George have also ignored many such incidents in the past. Even in the present case, they have failed to act. The public and the top IPS officers are now demanding that the government must crack the whip and restore credibility of the force immediately.
Caste politics is not a new thing to Karnataka Police. The battle between upper castes versus lower castes and locals versus outsiders etc have been a regular feature for a long time.
But, the top leadership of the police and the state government did not allow the situation go out of hand in the past. According to some old timers in the police department, the deterioration started with Siddaramaiah led Congress government coming to power in May 2013.
He appointed an inexperienced MLA from Bangalore city KJ George as Home Minister apparently under 'pressure' from the high command. George lacked the stature and necessary skills to handle the Home ministry. To make the matters worse, Siddaramaiah allegedly started running the police department through a highly controversial, retired IPS officer Kempaiah.
Lot of senior IPS officers protested this 'extra' constitutional authority interfering in their affairs. The locals versus outsiders, lower castes versus upper castes fights also worsened the matters further in the last one year.
DGP LR Pachau has also kept quiet and did nothing to provide a strong leadership to the force. As somebody says he wants stay away from trouble and rarely takes initiative in any matter. The opposition parties are now demanding that the Home Minister George must resign or he must restore the credibility of the Police department immediately.
The Karnataka Police was known for its professionalism and discipline for more than 50 years. It is now left with neither and increasingly looking like a ship which has lost direction in a rough sea.
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