police officers

mobile phone

coffee shop

IPS officer

ADGP

criminal

P Ravindranath

Au Bon Pain coffee shop

High Grounds police station

ID card

CCTV cameras

P Ravindranath, who was not in uniform, was thrown behind bars, but he managed to pull strings and get away scot-free. He then coolly attended a high-level meeting ofwhere he demanded the suspension of the cops who locked him upAt a time when women’s safety is a burning issue, a man who was allegedly caught taking photographs and videos of two girls on hisin aand was handed over to the police by the enraged public, was allowed to walk free after police rass intervened. It was discovered that the alleged ‘pervert’ was a seniorof the rank of additional director general of police ().The only saving grace to the disgraceful incident is that lower rung policemen, who initially took charge of the situation in the station, diligently did their duty and treated the ADGP like a common. The ‘accused’ was put behind bars, but not for long. Senior police officers who were alerted to the incident came to his ‘rescue’, helping him get away scot-free.The icing on the cake though, is that the ADGP attended a high-level meeting of police officers a few hours after the incident and allegedly had the gall to demand the suspension of the sub-inspector and the other policemen who were at the station. Sources say the ADGP claimed he was ‘assaulted’ by the police who did not ‘verify’ the details of the episode.It all began when, ADGP, KSRP, in mufti, walked into theon Cunningham Road around 12 noon on Monday. On seeing the two girls seated at another table, he allegedly whipped out his phone and began clicking photographs and taking videos of them. The girls who noticed the man’s suspicious behaviour raised a hue and cry. A heated argument ensued between the man and the two girls, during which one of the girls allegedly slapped him.Eyewitnesses, who wish to remain anonymous, confirmed to Bangalore Mirror that passersby intervened, thrashed Ravindranath and called the police. Immediately, a Hoysala van arrived and the ADGP was bundled inside. He was taken to the nearby. There, a sub-inspector who was on duty took Ravindranath to task.The ‘accused’, in an attempt to scare the lower rung policemen into submission, is said to have flashed his ID card, but the High Grounds police refused to have any of it. Suggesting that thewas a ‘fake’, the sub-inspector and other policemen present in the station refused to believe that the alleged pervert was an ADGP. They asked him to remove his shirt and threw him behind bars.However, Ravindranath managed to make a call to B R Ravikanthe Gowda, deputy commissioner of police (Central), who rushed to the High Grounds police station along with the jurisdictional ACP. One call to the city police commissioner Raghavendra Auradkar later, the ADGP walked out of the station scot-free.Barely flustered by the incident, Ravindranath then proceeded to attend a high-level meeting at the DG&IGP’s office on Nrupathunga Road at 4 pm. At the meeting, in the presence of the state police chief, city police commissioner and other senior police officers, the ADGP demanded the suspension of the sub-inspector and other policemen who were on duty at High Grounds police station when he was locked up.“He claimed that he was innocent and that he had not taken any pictures or videos of the girls, but that the police refused to believe him and did not verify his version of the story,” sources said. “The ADGP also alleged that his shirt was ripped off and he was beaten by the policemen.”Following Ravindranath’s allegations, the sub-inspector and other cops from the High Grounds police station were summoned to the DG&IGP’s office to give their version of the event. The top brass did not take a firm decision, but the fate of these lower-rung policemen now hangs in the balance.Meanwhile, the management of the café shot off a mail to their head honchos, describing the incident in detail. “Two girls who were seated at a table protested when they saw an elderly man who had walked in begin taking their pictures and videos,” an employee of the coffee shop told Bangalore Mirror. “An argument broke out when the girls confronted the man, and one of them slapped him. Soon, angry members of the public intervened and called the police. The man was taken to the High Grounds police station in a Hoysala van.”The coffee shop employees too were unaware that the man was an ADGP-ranked officer. The employee claimedinside the shop were not working and they have no footage of the incident.The distressed girls are said to have approached the Cubbon Park police and filed a complaint against Ravindranath. They too did not know the man is an ADGP. The case is yet to be registered, sources said. Efforts to contact the ADGP for his version of the events failed as his phone was switched off for the rest of the day.Home minister K J George, speaking to Bangalore Mirror, said that the issue being sensitive and involving a senior rank official, a report into the facts would be sought. "I'm not aware of the facts right now. However, a report will be sought to know the facts of the case, and to see who is at fault and then it will be acted upon," he said.Chief minister Siddaramaiah had visited Cunningham road just half an hour before the incident took place. He had come to inspect work on the road which has been in progress since one-and-a-half months. The work has been affected because of electrical and telephone lines. Soon after the CM left the spot, the division’s DCP, BR Ravikanthegowda, got a message about the incident and he rushed to High Grounds police station along with the ACP of Sheshadripuram sub-division. They sent out the staff of the police station while inquiring with the girl and the ADGP about the incident.It appears P Ravindranath is not n ew to controversies. In 2008, when he was DIG (Administration), he submitted his resignation to then ADGP B E Umapathy when his request for leave to attend to his ailing mother was reportedly turned down by the ADGP. It is said that the ADGP wanted Ravindranth to clear all pending files before leaving, and that led to a heated argument between the two, resulting in Ravindranath submitting his resignation.When contacted, Lalrokhuma Pachau, DG and IGP, said he was aware of the incident and promised action. “I got to know about such an incident taking place on Cunningham Road where P Ravindranath tried to take photos of some girls. I was briefed about it by commissioner of police, Raghavendra Auradkar. I will ensure action is taken.” He said action would depend on “the complaint filed by the girls”. Asked about Ravindranth’s alleged demand to suspend the High Grounds policemen who had made him remove his shirt and had locked him up, Pachau said, “They (High Grounds police) may not have be aware of who Ravidranath is. I will not allow anyone to be suspended.”