Inspector-General of Police (Western Range) Gopal B. Hosur, who is set to take over as Additional Commissioner of Police in Bangalore, has described his last posting as the “most challenging assignment” of his career.
“This (Western Range) is one of the most challenging police environments in the State. Serving here and restoring peace has been one of the most challenging assignments of my career,” Mr. Hosur said during an informal interaction with journalists here on Wednesday.
A 1980 batch Karnataka State Police Service officer, Mr. Hosur suffered several bullet injuries in an encounter with forest brigand Veerappan in 1993. He was in hospital for nearly six months.
Mr. Hosur, who took charge of the Western Range in February 2009 in the aftermath of the attack on women at a city pub and the church attacks, has been credited with restoring the rule of law in an atmosphere that had been vitiated by communal strife.
Recalling his tenure here, he said that the initial period was the most stressful and the first six to eight months were spent in damage control. “But in the last eight months there has not been a single major communal conflagration,” he pointed out and picked Superintendent of Police A.S. Rao for praise.
“Mr. Rao is a young officer but he has shown maturity. He and his band of highly competent officers have brought me satisfaction,” he said.
“Since peace has returned, we are concentrating on consolidating our position and working on infrastructure development and technology upgrades,” he said. He once again drew attention to the poor state of the police quarters in the city and said that it is one of the areas of concern for the leadership.
Underlining the achievements of the police, he said that the force has been able to tap intelligence networks in West Asia successfully. It is because of this improved intelligence network that the influence of underworld elements such as Madoor Isubu, Bananje Raja and Ravi Poojary has diminished. He also mentioned the arrest of Rasheed Malbari as a major achievement.
Mr. Hosur, who also heads the Anti-Naxal Force, said that the force had divided Naxal supporters into three categories while dealing with them. The first category of people who supported the Left-wing extremists out of fear were given support and reassurance. Legal action was initiated against those supporting the extremist groups voluntarily. And armed militia members were systematically neutralised, he said.
However, Mr. Hosur maintained that the police force has a limited role to play in combating Maoism. He said that a holistic approach with a focus on development is needed to root out the Naxal movement.
