Bengaluru: Thirty six hours after a criminal case of molestation was filed against Additional Director General of Police, Karnataka State Reserve Police, P. Ravindranath, he staged a virtual mutiny with the help of around 500 KSRP personnel and brought the city to a halt for almost four hours on Wednesday evening.
The situation worsened within minutes, forcing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his Home Minister K.J. George to call for an emergency meeting late evening with Chief Secretary Kaushik Mukherjee, DG&IGP Lalrokhuma Pachuau and senior-most ADGPs to defuse the mounting crisis and curb the revolt among the incited and disgruntled KSRP men.
Mr George had to call for truce with the agitated officer, who after instigating the KSRP men against the city police went to a TV channel office for yet another marathon session of interview. In full public view, the TV host put Mr Ravindranath across to Mr George on the telephone, who asked the officer to defuse the tension and calm down and reminded him of his obligation as a senior police officer. The belligerent officer dared the Home Minister to arrest him and produce him before the court.
The Home Minister said that a person cannot be arrested on suspicion alone. Mr George managed to placate Mr Ravindranath and told him that the government had ordered a CID inquiry in the case.
After the KSRP men went on a flash strike, traffic on Sarjapur Road, Silk Board Junction that connects Electronic City and areas around Koramangala came to a standstill. Thousands of people returning home from work were stuck for more than three hours in the traffic jams. The KSRP men blocked traffic at the main junction near Koramangala Second Block, right next to the KSRP Headquarters in Madiwala, bringing the city to its knees.
