BENGALURU: The death of IPS officer Madhukar Shetty shocked the staff of Lokayukta office who worked under him when he was SP of Bengaluru Urban division. Recollecting the past glory of the institution during Justice Santosh Hegde’s tenure, when Shetty was SP, a former staff member said Shetty summoned a junior BBMP engineer, as a social worker was not allowed to perform the last rites of an unclaimed body at a burial ground after the deadline, and was asked to pay money.
“This worker approached Shetty and complained. Shetty then called the engineer and gave him a lesson in human values,” the former employee said. Praising Shetty for his uncanny ability to identify the root cause of any problem, the employee said that Shetty would always enquire about the reasons why his staffers came late to office. “He would help them if they were in need. Salaries were paid on time, bills were reimbursed without a hitch,” he said.
The former employee said that Shetty gave him the required confidence to quit his police job and open a small business. “Sometimes, Shetty sir used to take money from his subordinates and return it sincerely. Responding to the needy made him borrow money from colleagues but he kept an account of every paisa. This shows his honesty and down-to-earth quality,” said another staffer.