Bengaluru: Karnataka IPS officer Puttapaga Ravindranath, who submitted his resignation earlier this week alleging harassment, plans to practice medicine if and when his resignation is accepted.
Ravindranath, who was serving as the DGP of the training wing of the Karnataka police, in an official communication to the government on Tuesday said he was prematurely transferred after taking legal action against people involved in a fake caste certificate issue.
In an exclusive conversation with ETV Bharat, Ravindranath said that he had served with integrity for 33 years and had "bravely faced many conspiracies".
The 1989-batch IPS officer submitted his resignation letter this week citing harassment. Ravindranath is the son of P. Mahendranath, a senior leader from Telangana who worked as a minister in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh. He hails from Jonnalaboguda village in Nagarkurnool district. He said that he faced harassment from his superiors when he tried to protect scheduled castes.
Ravindranath told ETV Bharat that when he was appointed as the DGP, Directorate of Civil Rights Enforcement six months ago, he conducted awareness programs for scheduled castes all over Karnataka. "We strictly enforced the SCs and STs Rules, 1995 for protecting them. Though I requested Chief Secretary Karnataka, Ravi Kumar to set up a protection cell for Dalits, I was ignored. Few ineligible beneficiaries in the state got SC [Scheduled Caste] certificates in the name of Beda tribes. One of them is also the daughter of an MP. We filed cases on all of them. So, they transferred me to the training department," he said.
The senior police officer alleged that he faced discrimination because he was a Dalit. He has studied MBBS at Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad. "I will work as a doctor if my resignation is approved. We have 15 acres of land in my native town. I will take up farming. I have no intention of entering politics. I will serve the society though," he said
Ravindranath said he has served in key positions during his tenure and was even honoured with a Gallantry Award by the President. "Since I was honest, leaders would put a lot of pressure on me. I was transferred without reason. Promotions were withheld. I fought for everything and achieved them," he said.
This is the fourth time Ravindranath has resigned in this career so far. "I resigned in 2008 after being harassed by a superior. Later, I withdrew my resignation as his atrocities came to light. I resigned in 2014 after being falsely accused. Then the High Court ruled that it was a fabricated case, and I resumed my duties. Last year, officers who had shorter tenure than me got promoted to DGP. When I resigned, the government immediately released my promotion orders," he said.
The DGP’s resignation has become the talk of the town in bureaucratic circles in the state. Ravindranath said that he was upset over his transfer within four months of being promoted to DGP, from DCRE to training. He also blamed the government for not being aware that an officer could be transferred only after two years of service in the concerned department.
Meanwhile, his resignation has taken a political turn as former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy alleged that the ruling BJP and Opposition Congress have come together to finish off an upright Dalit IPS officer.
The senior IPS officer had been transferred within 10 days of issuance of notice to a retired IPS officer, who is facing an allegation of submission of a fake caste certificate. "This episode clearly shows that the ruling BJP is working under whose instructions," he charged without taking the name of Opposition leader Siddaramaiah.
Home Minister Araga Jnanendra has suggested that any officer who faced harassment should file a complaint with the higher authorities instead of resigning. He added that he would gather details from his superiors regarding the resignation and order an inquiry.
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