We can dismiss DGP Ramachandra Rao after inquiry: Minister Parameshwara
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Tuesday said that the government has acted swiftly by suspending DGP K Ramachandra Rao after a video showing him in compromising position with women has gone viral.
Saying that an inquiry has been ordered into the incident, the minister asserted that further action will be taken based on the findings of the probe. "He can be dismissed as well," he added.
News channels beamed a video on Monday purportedly showing Rao in a compromising position with women. The video has gone viral in social media.
Rao sought to reject the videos outright, terming them "fabricated and false".
Government placed Rao under suspension with immediate effect, citing conduct unbecoming of a government servant and violation of service rules, pending a detailed inquiry.
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Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Parameshwara said the suspension was an immediate measure necessitated by the seriousness of the matter.
"We have suspended him. An inquiry will follow. After the inquiry, we will get to know the other dimensions as well. We will take next action accordingly," he said.
Referring to reports that the suspended officer had sought to meet him, the minister said he had consciously avoided any interaction.
"In such a situation one has to be cautious. Hence, I didn't meet him," Parameshwara said.
On the BJP's demand for the arrest of the officer, the minister indicated that the government has not ruled out stricter action in the future.
"The future course of action will be different. He can be dismissed as well," he said, adding that the government did not hesitate to act despite the officer's seniority.
"Since we had to take immediate action, we have placed him under suspension without considering the fact that he is a senior officer. Based on the inquiry report, we will take next course of action," he said.
Responding to a query, minister said, "I don't have any information on the complainant. I don't know anything in this case other than what is prima facie available."
"This incident has caused embarrassment to the department. Such incidents are a matter of shame for not only the police department but also other departments," he said.
"CM Siddaramaiah and myself are deeply disturbed by this incident. Since this relates to my department, it doesn't seem good to me," he said.
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Key accused in Govind Pansare murder case dies in Maharashtra's Sangli
Mumbai (PTI): Right-wing activist Sameer Gaikwad, accused of being a "co-conspirator" in the 2015 murder of rationalist and author Govind Pansare, died in Maharashtra's Sangli district in the early hours of Tuesday, officials said.
Gaikwad, 43, an alleged member of Sanatan Sanstha, was arrested in 2015 in the case. He was granted bail in 2017 and had been staying at his residence in Sangli.
He was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him dead on arrival early on Tuesday, a police official said without giving more details.
Prima facie, Gaikwad died due to cardiac arrest, but police were waiting for the postmortem report to ascertain the exact cause of death, he said.
There is nothing suspicious, the official added.
Pansare was shot at on February 16, 2015, in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur and succumbed to his injuries a few days later on February 20.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT), which was subsequently formed to investigate Pansare's murder, arrested Gaikwad in the case in September 2015.
In its chargesheet, the SIT had mentioned Gaikwad as a "co-conspirator" and alleged that he, along with other Sanatan Sanstha activists, eliminated Pansare.
The SIT had also conducted raids at Sanatan Sanstha's ashram in Panvel, Navi Mumbai, in connection with the case.
Pansare and his wife were returning home from their morning walk in the Samrat Nagar area of Kolhapur when two motorbike-borne men fired multiple rounds at them before fleeing in 2015.
Initially, the Rajarampuri police station in Kolhapur handled the case.
The investigation was later transferred to the SIT under the supervision of the Additional Director General of Police (CID), Maharashtra.
Dissatisfied with the lack of progress in tracing the shooters, Pansare’s family had sought the case’s transfer to the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).
On August 3, 2022, the HC transferred the probe to the ATS, observing there was “no headway” or “breakthrough” in the case.
Of the 12 accused identified, nine have so far been arrested, and four supplementary chargesheets have been filed.
