BENGALURU: Former Bengaluru City police commissioner Bhaskar Rao said it was a “roller coaster ride” for him since the time he assumed office on August 2, 2019. He has now been posted as ADGP-Internal Security Division.
“Three days after I assumed office, the Central Government abrogated Article 370 which gave special status to Jammu & Kashmir. There was a huge representation from Kashmiri students in the city. We met them and assuaged their fears. In September, there were massive rallies in the city protesting against the arrest of present KPCC president D K Shivakumar,” Rao recalled.
“In November last year, there was largescale police bandobast in Bengaluru on the eve of the Supreme Court verdict in the Ram Janam Bhoomi case. The same month, anti-CAA and NRC protests started in the City, which saw an unprecedented gathering of over two lakh Muslims at Khuddus Saheb Idgah on December 22. It passed off without a single incident.
The protests continued till the end of February and the Covid lockdown brought on unprecedented demands on the police,” said the former commissioner. “I realised that if I have to get work done from my constables, I will have to befriend and empathise with them. I personally contacted around 5,000 constables and addressed their grievances.
We gave them due leaves; told them that they have to work as if they were the police commissioner of their area,” said Rao. He added that his policy of WHAM (winning hearts and minds) adopted by his men was the reason why Bengaluru didn’t see a spike in the crime graph.