No relief for inspector who booked Karnataka CM’s son Rakesh Siddaramaiah

BENGALURU: Action taken by a police inspector during the last assembly elections has now come back to haunt him just ahead of the next state elections scheduled for May 2018. A few days back, the state government rejected the review petition filed by a police inspector, who was suspended for 15 months for allegedly invoking inappropriate Indian Penal Code sections against Chief Minister’s late son Rakesh Siddaramaiah during Legislative Assembly polls in 2013. Interestingly, the Appellant Authority headed by the state police chief, earlier in 2016, had observed that the punishment was not corresponding but was excessive in nature.

G N Mohan, who was then the inspector of Nazarbad police station in Mysuru, had booked 10 persons including Rakesh Siddaramaiah on attempt to murder and other charges in connection with an incident on May 3, 2013, just two days before the polls. Former CM B S Yeddyurappa-led KJP candidate Kapu Siddalingaswamy, who had contested against Siddaramaiah from the Varuna constituency, had filed a complaint that Rakesh and others including the present PWD Minister Dr H C Mahadevappa, had attacked him during election campaigning at Lalitha Mahal Main Road Junction.

Based on the complaint, the inspector had directed a sub-inspector to register the case under section 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC and Rakesh was made the prime accused in the case. Just five days after Siddaramaiah was sworn in as the CM and the inspector was suspended on May 18, 2013 on charges of dereliction of duty and misconduct, a departmental enquiry  was initiated. His suspension was revoked only on August 21, 2014 and he was transferred to Karwar District Crime Records Branch.

On April 1, 2016, the DE had proved the negligence and dereliction of duty of the inspector, and thus had imposed penalty of postponing the annual increment of the inspector for a period of six months and treating the period of his suspension as suspension. The inspector had approached the appellant authority in 2017. It observed that there were no substantial point in the petition but opined that the punishment was not corresponding with the misconduct of the inspector and was excess. The inspector had further approached the government and filed revision appeal in May 2017. On Tuesday, his appeal was rejected citing that the Appellant Authority’s order is appropriate.

Controversy  in 2013
The inspector’s suspension stirred a controversy in 2013, as he was suspended soon after Siddaramaiah took charge as the CM. The case against Rakesh was closed and the police filed a ‘B’ report in July 2016. the inspector allegedly allowing the accused and a complaint in a cognisable case to settle the case themselves, had also led to this suspension.