Several IPS officers are elated with the appointment of Neelamani N. Raju as the first woman Director-General and Inspector-General of Police (DG & IGP) of the State.
That no woman had occupied the top post in Karnataka so far was a reminder of the glass ceiling in a predominantly male force that has in recent times seen several women IPS officers excel.
Senior IPS officer Malini Krishnamoorthy, who is posted as Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order, West) Bengaluru, said the appointment was extremely significant and a signal in the right direction. “Ms. Raju is the senior-most officer in the State and there is no reason why she shouldn’t be given the top post,” she said, and added that this would go a long way in increasing the confidence of all policewomen. “This is a time that we should use to better leverage women police personnel across the State,” she said.
D. Roopa, another IPS officer, said all policewomen in the State were congratulating themselves. “It was high time we had a woman chief and we have got one,” she said.
Historically, the only other woman officer who has come close to occupying the position but was denied was Jija Harisingh, a 1975 batch officer and also the first woman IPS officer of Karnataka cadre. Ms. Harisingh was in the race for the posts of the Police Commissioner of Bangalore in 2006 and DG & IGP in 2009. At that time, she had expressed her unhappiness at the top posts being denied to her. Ms. Harisingh, who retired in 2011, was not available for comment.
The second IPS officer from the State, Prabha H. Rao — a 1982 batch officer — was later absorbed into the Central Intelligence Agency and is still posted there.
Ms. Raju, the third IPS officer from the Karnataka cadre, has had a 23-year-long tenure in the Intelligence Bureau and returned to State service in 2016.
Chief Secretary
In all likelihood, a woman will be in the running for the post of Chief Secretary. The incumbent chief secretary Subhash Chandra Khuntia, a 1981 batch IAS officer, will retire on November 30. The next line of seniority has two women officers, followed by another male officer. The senior most IAS officer is Ratna Prabha K who is also a 1981 batch IAS officer and will retire on March 31, 2018. Two others in the race are 1982 batch officers Latha Krishna Rao G. and S.K. Pattanayak, both on central deputation presently.
However, it will not be the first time the State will have a woman Chief Secretary.
Sources in the government, however, said that no call had been taken on the issue, and that the Chief Minister was likely to go by seniority.
