Karnataka makes history with its first woman police chief

BENGALURU: In a historic day for the state police, Karnataka got its first woman police chief with Neelamani N Raju taking charge on Tuesday. The 57-year-old woman IPS officer took over from Rupak Kumar Dutta who retired on Tuesday, after serving a short stint of nine months. Raju is the first woman to be appointed as Director General and Inspector General of Police and she has a long tenure of two years and three months in service.

Raju, a 1983 batch Karnataka cadre IPS officer, is seniormost among the three DGP rank officers, including Kishore Chandra HC and MN Reddi, who had vied for the post. Though she has served most of her tenure in central intelligence agencies, she told Express that she was well aware of the state’s ground realities. “What matters is the intensity of experience and not the length,” said Raju.
Raju lauded Dutta for his initiatives in the new beat system and reforms within police department. She said she would continue the work with the support of her department and “be available 24x7 for any situation”.

The government issued the order of her appointment an hour before she took charge. Sources said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah went with seniority and appointed Raju. Kishore Chandra has been posted as head of State Police Housing Corporation while Reddi will head Fire and Emergency Services.