It was not just policemen who were there; a large number of common people also came to pay their last respects to IPS officer K. Madhukar Shetty on Saturday at the Armed Police Training School, Yelahanka, where his mortal remains were kept for public viewing.
His body was later flown to Mangaluru. The last rites will be held at his native village, Yedadi, in Udupi district on Sunday afternoon. He is survived by his wife, a tenured professor in a U.S. university, and a nine-year old daughter. Those who had come to pay their respects for the departed officer were seen consoling the two.
Home Minister M.B. Patil told presspersons that DG&IGP Neelmani N. Raju has sought a report from the hospital and the National Police Academy on Shetty’s death. “Depending on the report, we will also conduct an inquiry, if need be,” he said.
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However, Water Resources Minister D.K. Shivakumar said there was a need to investigate the circumstances of his death and find out whether they were natural. However, senior police officers expressed scepticism about this, saying Shetty’s was a natural death due to medical complications.
Shetty died at a private hospital in Hyderabad on Friday night. He had been hospitalised for over a week. He was suffering from H1N1-induced pneumonia, which led to multiple organ failure — kidneys, lungs, and heart. He was last posted as Deputy Director, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy, Hyderabad.
Known as a tough and honest officer, Shetty, as Superintendent of Police, Lokayukta, had played a prominent role in the investigation by the then Lokayukta N. Santosh Hegde into illegal mining.
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