SHIVAMOGGA: A pair of elephant tusks that has gone missing from the Shivamogga Superintendent of Police’s office has sent everybody in the department into a tizzy.
Currently, a departmental enquiry into the missing tusks, headed by Additional Superintendent of Police Muthuraj, is underway. It has been months and the police are clueless about its whereabouts.
According to sources, the tusk was last seen in a photograph take in 2007. Interestingly, the precious item was found missing only recently, after 10 years. The incident came to light during a meeting convened to hand over valuable stone sculptures that were used to beautify the SP’s office to the museum developed by the Department of Archaeology of Kuvempu University.
Several stone sculptures were used to decorate the campus of the SP’s office. After Abhinav Khare became SP, he decided to hand over the sculptures to the museum. At a meeting in this regard, the issue of the missing tusks came up. Following this, District Police office authorities launched a search operation but failed to find it, so Khare ordered a departmental enquiry into it.
Sources said for the last few months, the district police staff got into a tizzy, running from one paper publisher to another, asking if they had a picture of the tusks. But no one had it.
Round the clock security
The SP’s chamber is guarded by police personnel round the clock, throughout the year. Amid such tight security and CCTV cameras, the tusks have gone missing.
Meanwhile, all the staff of the Confidential Branch (C and B) sections attached to the SP’s office, have been shifted to other police stations. They have been strictly directed not to enter the DPO premises till the investigation is over. The apprehensive staff of C and B sections and other staff are wondering at whom the finger will be pointed at.
After the tenure of Arun Chakravarthy, Murugan took over the office. Thereafter came Raman Gupta, followed by Koushalendra Kumar and Ravi D Channannanavar. Abhinav Khare assumed the office in August 2016.
Usually, a new officer decorates his chamber to his liking. During the handing over of charge from one officer to another, all items in the office are mentioned in the records. However, the pair of tusks was not mentioned.