He gained fame as the man who predicted Kannada cine icon Rajkumar’s kidnap by sandalwood smuggler Veerappan, much before it actually happened. The Arkesh report identified a clear threat from Veerappan to Rajkumar, H Nagappa (both of whom were kidnapped, the latter killed) and Vatal Nagaraj, and suggested measures to guard them.
When he submitted that report, K Arkesh was a superintendent of police in the Special Task Force set up to nab the smuggler. Since then, he has commanded a battallion in Jammu and Kashmir and set up various police training institutes in Karnataka, before he retired on Friday as IGP, CRPF, Karnataka and Kerala.
The passion for the profession and the sharp acumen that Arkesh was known for through 37 years of service, was evident even on the last day. “There are 10,000 posts vacant in the Central Reserve Police Force and state youths have to make full use of this opportunity”, he urged.
Arkesh said many new training centres had been set up in the state, including one to train constables at Taralu. “They have even started a dog squad training centre. At the CRPF centre at Yelahanka, there is an information technology centre. About 10,000 staffers were trained in catering at the catering management centre, while there are more then 7,000 CRPF staffers being trained in IT colleges”, he outlined.
Stressing the many avenues that CRPF opens, Arkesh said: “CRPF has started commando training at a centre spread over 428 acres at Belgaum. New centres are planned at Shimoga on 200 acres. There is a separate 100 acre centre to train women on Bannur Road near Mysore”.
Post-retirement, he also has plans to train rural and urban youth for CRPF jobs. “I have an NGO called Arkesh Academy for Achievers. I want to train the young generation, give them information about CRPF posts and ensure that they get them”, he said.
Arkesh is the second Kannadiga to hold the post of IG-CRPF. He was born on May 14, 1953 and joined CRPF as DySP in 1976, after acquiring a master’s degree in anthropology with gold medal and post- graduate diploma in folklore.