IPS officer P. Ravindranath, who holds the post of Additional Director General of Police in the Forest Cell, tendered his resignation to the Chief Secretary T.M. Vijay Bhaskar through Karnataka DGP Praveen Sood citing harassment. This comes following the promotion of senior IPS officers who were junior to him.
In his resignation letter dated October 28, Mr. Ravindranath stated that over the last four years he has been facing “problems created by a few individuals”, but did not elaborate about the nature of the harassment or the people behind it.
Case in 2014
The IPS officer came under investigation in 2014 for reportedly taking photos of a woman on his mobile phone camera at a coffee shop in Bengaluru. At the time, a case was filed against him. In his letter, he stated that he had approached the Central Administrative Tribunal and High Court, and obtained relief. “The recent Supreme Court order dated October 15 gave me justice in my service matters. But a few individuals prevented justice,” he said in the letter.
Regarding the promotions, he told the media that he would seek legal recourse to claim his rights.
Sources in the Home Department said that senior officers are trying to convince Mr. Ravindranath to withdraw his resignation. “The episode has caused major embarrassment to the department at a time when the government is busy with the bypolls,” said sources.
