Rare police honour for civilian: Dr. Ronald Colaco felicitated by Karnataka DGP
Bengaluru: Philanthropist and NRI entrepreneur Dr Ronald Colaco has received rare recognition from the Karnataka Police for his decades-long contribution to public service, police infrastructure development and efforts to promote communal harmony in the state.
The honour was formally conferred on December 22, 2025, when Karnataka Director General of Police M A Saleem presented Dr Colaco with the Karnataka Police Unique Official Memento, engraved with his name, along with a Certificate of Appreciation. The citation acknowledged his sustained support in upgrading police infrastructure and his role in setting high standards for public-private cooperation in policing.
Earlier, Dr Colaco had also been similarly honoured by former DGP Alok Mohan, making him one of the very few civilians to receive such official police recognition from two successive chiefs. Police officials noted that such mementos are typically reserved for constitutional authorities, senior ministers or visiting foreign dignitaries.
Dr Colaco’s association with the Karnataka Police dates back more than two decades. In 2003, responding to a request from the then police leadership, he undertook the renovation of the Frazer Town police station, now Pulikeshinagar. He went on to design and construct a fully furnished, modern police station spanning about 5,000 square feet, an initiative widely regarded as a first-of-its-kind civilian-supported model police station in the country.
The following year, he reconstructed an earlier police facility at Frazer Town into a dedicated traffic police station, strengthening traffic management infrastructure in the area. His efforts later inspired several large corporates and multinational companies to partner with the state in building police stations, resulting in nearly 50 additional stations across Karnataka through similar public-private initiatives.
In 2021, Dr Colaco added another dimension to his support by building a police museum at Frazer Town to preserve and showcase historical policing artefacts. The museum is expected to be inaugurated later this year. His contributions have also extended beyond Bengaluru, including the provision of furniture and essential facilities to the Chikkajala police station and support for upgrading the Police Officers’ Mess during different tenures of city police leadership.
In Mangaluru, Dr Colaco assisted in renovating the office of the Inspector General of Police during Dr Alok Mohan’s tenure as IGP of the Western Range. He later initiated scholarship programmes for children of police personnel, aimed at encouraging academic excellence. Between 2010 and 2011, scholarships and educational materials worth several million rupees were distributed to more than 550 students, a legacy that has since been continued by his family.
Apart from policing, Dr Colaco has contributed to the development and renovation of a wide range of public institutions across Karnataka over the past three-and-a-half decades. His philanthropic work spans more than 25 sectors, including education, healthcare, judiciary, revenue administration, rural drinking water, roads, sports, disaster relief, places of worship and housing for the underprivileged.
His long-standing public service has also received international recognition. In 2022, the World Book of Records, London, awarded him a Certificate of Excellence for his sustained contributions, an honour announced at the UK Parliament during the Indo-UK Leadership Summit.
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When Ajit Pawar had sinking feeling on board a helicopter in 2024 and started chanting God's name
Nagpur (PTI): Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who was killed in a plane crash on Wednesday, had shared an anecdote about the tense moments he experienced while flying in a helicopter to Gadchiroli with a couple of prominent politicians from the state amid bad weather in July 2024.
He had shared the experience at a public function in Gadchiroli, where he arrived in the helicopter from Nagpur with the then deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and Industries Minister Uday Samant.
Although the anecdote was about the mid-air scare he experienced, Pawar had narrated it in his trademark humorous style. A video of Pawar's speech has now resurfaced on social media following his death.
He said although he was very nervous during the helicopter journey as nothing was visible outside due to a thick cloud cover, Fadnavis was unperturbed and told him that he had experienced mid-air scares six times earlier, and asked him to calm down, saying nothing bad would happen.
The incident had taken place on July 17, 2024 when the three leaders were heading to Gadchiroli from Nagpur for the foundation stone laying ceremony of Surjagad Ispat Pvt Ltd, a steel company.
Addressing the gathering at the event after their arrival, Pawar said, "When we started from Nagpur in the helicopter, it was fine at first. But later, when the helicopter entered the clouds, I looked this way and that way - there were clouds everywhere. And our Devendra Fadnavis was just sitting there, casually chatting."
"I told him (Fadnavis) - 'Look outside, we can't see anything, no trees, no ground, nothing. We are flying blindly through the clouds. Where are we even going?' But he calmly replied - 'Don't worry at all. I have experienced six such incidents so far. Whenever I am in a helicopter or a plane and an accident occurs, nothing happens to me. So, nothing will happen to you either."
"I thought to myself - 'My goodness, what is he saying? I already had a sinking feeling in my stomach! Today is Ashadhi Ekadashi (a holy day), so I was constantly chanting 'Panduranga, Panduranga' (God's name) in my mind. And here was this 'Maharaj' (Fadnavis) giving me advice," he said.
Pawar also said that as Fadnavis told him not to worry, he remained completely relaxed and nothing bad really happened.
"It is the good deeds of his (Fadnavis) elders that we reached here (safely)...Those good deeds helped us," he said.
"But friends, honestly, all of us were quite shaken. Uday Samant was sitting to my right, and he said, 'Dada, Dada, look! The ground is finally visible'. I said - 'Thank God, we can see the ground now!' Jokes apart, everyone must take care," he said.
Pawar (66) and four others were killed after a plane carrying them crashed in Baramati town in Maharashtra's Pune district on Wednesday morning.
