A top cop’s tumble

HL: A top cop’s tumble

Strap: Viral sleaze videos, a pending inquiry & a looming retirement converge as Karnataka suspends a senior IPS officer

 

Blurb:

For the police force, the episode raises harder questions. When its chief becomes the subject of an obscenity inquiry, the damage extends beyond one individual. It cuts into the credibility of the institution itself

 

Byline: Ravi Kiran

 

The Karnataka government’s suspension of DGP (Civil Rights Enforcement) K Ramachandra Rao is a reminder of how swiftly authority can unravel when credibility collapses in public view.

On Monday, the state placed Rao under suspension with immediate effect, citing conduct unbecoming of a government servant and embarrassment to the administration, after videos purportedly showing the senior IPS officer in a compromising position with women flooded television channels and social media platforms.

Rao has denied the allegations, calling the clips fabricated and possibly generated using artificial intelligence. But for the government, the issue was not the officer’s explanation. It was the scale of public outrage and the damage to institutional credibility.

In its order, the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms said the widely circulated videos and accompanying news reports showed the officer acting in an “obscene manner”, in violation of Rule 3 of the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968. The state said it was prima facie satisfied that disciplinary action was necessary, pending inquiry.

The message was unambiguous: seniority would not shield misconduct, alleged or otherwise, when public trust is at stake.

Rao will now remain under suspension, entitled only to subsistence allowance and barred from leaving headquarters without permission. An inquiry will examine not just the videos but also audio clips that surfaced alongside them.

The controversy arrives at a particularly sensitive moment. Rao is due to retire in May. More significantly, he has already been under public scrutiny due to a separate high-profile case involving his stepdaughter, Ranya Rao, who is in judicial custody in a gold smuggling case.

Ranya was arrested at Kempegowda International Airport on March 3, 2025, allegedly smuggling 14.8 kg of gold worth over Rs 12.56 crore from Dubai. Investigators later flagged her 45 solo trips to Dubai between 2023 and 2025, raising suspicions of a wider network involving two other accused.

While the government has not formally linked the two cases, their overlap has sharpened political and public scrutiny.

The opposition BJP accused the state of acting late and shielding the officer earlier. Former minister S. Suresh Kumar described the alleged conduct as “inexcusable” and said it had damaged the reputation of the police force. Women and Child Development Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar responded by asserting that the government would act “mercilessly” if wrongdoing was established, irrespective of rank.

Civil society pressure has also intensified. Complaints have been sent to the Prime Minister’s Office, the Department of Personnel and Training and the Chief Secretary, seeking action under the All India Services rules and alleging misuse of public office and uniform.

For Rao, the inquiry will determine culpability. For the police force, the episode raises harder questions. When its chief becomes the subject of an obscenity inquiry, the damage extends beyond one individual. It cuts into the credibility of the institution itself.

In today’s surveillance-heavy, media-saturated environment, power no longer waits for verdicts to lose legitimacy. The court of public trust moves faster. And when that trust fractures, the uniform becomes a liability long before retirement papers are signed.