BENGALURU: Former state police chief BN Garudachar passed away in the city on Friday morning due to age-related ailments. He was 96, and is survived by Chickpet BJP MLA Uday Garudachar and two daughters.
Garudachar, who hailed from Bindiganavile village in Mandya district, joined IPS in 1956. He studied in Hyderabad.
He was appointed as the police commissioner of Bengaluru in 1976 and served the police force in that capacity for four years and two months.
Garudachar worked as the deputy commissioner of police in Bengaluru for nearly eight years, and was the state police chief for three years and eight months.He was the first IPS officer to be posted as DCP, exclusively for traffic.
The city’s first traffic signal post was built at NR Junction during his tenure in 1963. He was known for being tough on Bengaluru’s underworld then, when MP Jairaj and Kotwal Ramachandra fought for supremacy.
Garuda malls in the city and Mysuru are built in his honour by his son. The last rites and cremation will take place in Wilson Garden Cemetery on Saturday at 4 pm.