Bengaluru: With the incumbent Commissioner of City police (CP), T. Suneel Kumar completing his one year tenure, the race for the coveted post in the police department has begun among senior officers of the rank of Additional Director General of Police even though sources close to Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said that he has not yet made any decision in this regard.
ADGP, Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) Alok Mohan, of the 1987 batch of Indian Police Service (IPS) is the seniormost officer in the contenders’ list and is reportedly placing his bet yet again for the City Commissioner’s post on the basis of his seniority and innings in the City in 2003-‘04 as joint commissioner of crime.
Two of his batch mates – Raghavendra Auradkar and N.S. Megharikh have already had their share of running the City as the CP, and Mohan has been waiting for his turn for long. ADGP, Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) Bhaskar Rao of 1990 batch, ADGP, Internal Security Division (ISD) C.H. Pratap Reddy and ADGP, Fire & Emergency Services Sunil Agarwal of 1991 batch of IPS are the other top contenders besides Mohan.
Sources, who didn't wish to be named, said that former prime minister and father of Mr. Kumaraswamy H.D. Deve Gowda is reportedly leaning towards Reddy and may recommend his candidature as the next top cop of the City. Rao being a local person is also high in the zone of consideration for the commissioner's post.
According to another official source, former BJP chief minister B.S. Yedyurappa in his 55-hour tenure in May this year had almost reportedly approved the appointment of Agarwal as the new commissioner of Bengaluru City but withdrew his decision last minute due to some 'compelling' reasons.
"While seniority should be criteria for the appointment of Bengaluru CP, it has not always been the case in the appointment of the commissioner. The officer is handpicked by the CM. It is totally his discretion. Since it's a coalition government the incumbent CM may have to appoint the officer, who 'fits' the bill in terms of seniority, merit, caste consideration and past performance".
