IPS officer Kala Ramachandran, the first woman CP of Gurugram Police is on the road ahead to strengthen Gurugram Police with specialized squads
New Delhi May 11
Senior IPS officer Kala Ramachandran is the first woman Indian Police Services (IPS) Officer to serve as the Commissioner of Gurugram Police.
An officer of the 1994 batch, Kala Ramachandran was on Central Deputation to Intelligence Bureau from 2001 and headed the North Eastern Police Academy in Meghalaya from 2017 to 2020.
Ramachandran worked as Superintendent of Police in Rewari, Fatehabad and Panchkula districts. She was also She returned to her home cadre in August 2020 and served as additional director general of police of Crime Against Women Cell and Vigilance at Haryana Police Headquarters besides the Principal Secretary of Transport.
In an exclusive interview with BW PoliceWorld, Gurugram CP Kala Ramachandran shares her vision for Gurugram Police, plans for specialized squads, detailed investigations and making Gurugram Police a leading police force in the country.
1) What are the initiatives you have introduced as the Police Commissioner of Gurugram for the citizens?
As the Chief of the Gurugram Police, my first priority is smooth law and order in the city. Gurugram is a highly progressing city with a mixed topography. The city grapples with cybercrimes which are recorded in high numbers and economic offences where cases of economic crimes are reported in high in real estate sector.
My focus is to bring specialized squads in Gurugram police and post selected officers who have the aptitude and training for the same. Specialization of a subject is the key to cracking down cases accurately. We have also sought help of retired officers and experts to train these specialized squads. The idea is to identify the right officer/official for the right job.
Gurugram on one side is the highly developed tech city with best amenities and infrastructure while on the other side there is contrast of areas like Pataudi, Bhondsi which are very different and partly rural. These areas are high in gangism and gang wars, which brings in rural policing component. The Gurugram police have been therefore trained to deal with the contrasting population and ensure law and order is intact.
2) Gurugram Police introduced SATMS (third eye) known as the third eye of Gurugram Police. Could you tell us more about this project?
As soon as I joined as CP Gurugram, I went on a patrol with DCP Traffic to identify the areas in Gurugram which are the bottlenecks and creating issues of traffic in the city. The areas that adjoin the national highway connecting Delhi to Jaipur and other parts of Haryana bring in lot of traffic disrupting the traffic of the city. We conducted detailed meetings with NHAI, Delhi Police, and Jaipur Police to bring changes. The officials brainstormed on the traffic diversions, modifications, road engineering, speed regulations and coordination between the cities. We started a diversion at Rajeev Chowk of Gurugram which was facing maximum issues of traffic congestion and traffic offences. The trial was successful and we will implement the same diversions and checks across the city. The issues of traffic in Gurugram will be solved in a detailed manner.
3) Tell us about the initiatives you plan to take for betterment of police in Gurugram.
I want to bring an attitudinal change in the police department. We are building human resource development in the force. The police personnel would be trained in soft skills, stress management, stress release and in subjects of their interest. The selection of an official as per his interest and talent is essential for a police force to function in positive atmosphere and potential. Therefore I am selecting officers for specialized squads for economic offences, cybercrime offences, women crimes, terror and gangism cases and more. The more an official is posted in the department of his choice the more his performance.
As per the MHA guidelines, we are also sensitising policemen on transgenders and dealing with the cases reported by them. The officers are being trained on how to help them who are in distress, how to talk, address their issues and ensure no offence is committed by the police in dealing with them.
4) Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij called for ‘Clean Haryana’ operation banning illegal liquor traders and organized crime. How will this operation bring about a change?
‘Operation Clean Haryana’ is an important initiative to curb organized crime that happens in gambling, narcotics, arms and other crimes committed by gangs in the state. Operation Clean Haryana will be applied in Gurugram on the lines of Gambling Act, Excise Act, NDPS Act and Arms Act.
Gurugram Police carried out a key operation recently in Hathras of Uttar Pradesh where the accused had hired a house in Hathras which was being used to make firearms. The accused was running an organized crime network of selling those manufactured arms in Delhi, Haryana and UP. We are now probing the forward and backward linkages of the same.
The organized crime gangs have been active in the state for a long time until the recent operations where the gangs were neutralized. The idea is to break the syndicates and uproot their network.
The gangs of Lawrence Bishnoi, Kala Jathedi, Neeraj Bawana and many more which were disturbing the law and order in Gurugram and Delhi. The gangs committed series of extortion, smuggling, murder, assault, liquor trade in Gurugram and Gurugram police carried out many operations to dissolve such gangs in the city. I would specially like to mention that Delhi Police Special Cell under Neeraj Thakur (former Chief of Special Cell) has done commendable job on cleaning out these gangs.
5) Speaking of gangs, there are many cases where traders and businessmen in Gurugram receive extortion calls in the name of gangster Neeraj Bawana. A recent case a businessman was threatened of extortion.
A businessman in Sushant Lok had recently received a threat and extortion call in the name of gangster Neeraj Bawana. The accused was an imposter who claimed to be Bawana and tried to extort Rs. 50 lakhs from the businessman. There have been three to four cases of similar nature in the past. We have two issues here the gangsters posing as Neeraj Bawana and those working on their instructions. There are many gangsters operating from prisons and we have ensured that those lodged in jails of Haryana and Delhi are watched. The aides of these gangsters who are absconding and evades arrest are on constant radar.
6) Gurugram witnessed a horrific murder of two liquor trader brothers who were shot dead in broad daylight with 30 bullets in Pataudi. How did Gurugram Police detect this case?
The brothers Surjeet Singh Thakrana and Paramjeet Singh Thakran were liquor traders. The double murder was the result of a gang war between the duo and the rival gang. During the investigation we found that the duo were also a part of a Kaushal gang and the assailants belonged to Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
The audacious murder was carried out to challenge the rival gang and bring about terror but their failed as Gurugram Police arrested the assailants Ajay Zaildar and accomplices within record time. After the arrest of the assailants, the message was sent straight to the few remaining gangs that they are under the radar of the special squads of Gurugram Police.
7) Hand grenades were found in an abandoned house at Gurugram. What are the findings of this case?
The locked house in Sector 31 was found with 15 MK 90 practise grenades that are used by the armed forces. The hand grenades were found in the toilet of the house by the burglars who went to rob. The grenades were diffused and samples were sent for probe. The hand grenades were found to be of 1963 batch. The owner of the house who were found to be from Delhi were booked and questioned for negligence. They had bought the house and kept it locked without using or maintaining it. We suspect the same house could have been used by any criminal as a hideout and we ensured the owner is liable for such property that becomes a threat. The Resident Welfare Association (RWA) was asked to keep watch on locked houses and inform police regularly.
8) The roof collapse of Chintels Paradiso was a tragic accident. There are allegations of negligence. How is Gurugram Police probing this case?
We started probing the case as soon as the accident took place. The residents complained of negligence. While investigating we found that there was an old complaint in July 2021 regarding the same issue. We asked the DTP to conduct an analysis. The DTP did not find issues in construction and the report was shared with the complainant. The complainant expressed satisfaction so the case was closed.
However, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi is doing a structural analysis of the building. The IIT teams will send a report on their findings. The Haryana CM has recommended a CBI investigation in the case. We don’t know who made the structural changes whether it was the builder or a resident who might have made changes during redesigning or renovation. The IIT report will give full clarity on the case.
9) As a woman officer citizens expect more efforts towards woman safety. What are is your vision for ensuring safety of women citizens in Gurugram?
As preventive measures for safety of women in Gurugram we have introduced all women police control room vans and patrolling vehicles. An organization ‘Safety Pin’ has identified areas in Gurugram that are poorly lit and or have no pavements which become soft targets to commit crimes against women. They have presented case studies which were analysed by police. After seeing those cases, we stepped up security in those areas. The patrolling is regular done in places of schools, colleges, markets where women frequent more.
We also organize sessions with them to inform them on their legal rights and reach out to them physically as well as social media.
The cyber stalking and harassment of women online is a big challenge. We are holding regular sessions with girls and women to alert them on how to protect themselves in cyberspace. We have also tied up with Nobel Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi’s NGO to sensitise children on crimes against children.
Haryana is a women centric government and women police stations have been set up in the state. I am now posting women officials in women police stations as in charges to handle all cases with professionalism.
I would like to mention Gurugram is not a rape capital as alleged by many. One needs to understand an issue which is recurrent in Gurugram is reporting of rape cases in cases of relationship going sour. The cases are yet probed and the accused is punished as per the law.
10) You are the first woman IPS officer to be appointed as the Police Commissioner of Gurugram. How do you see this achievement?
I never anticipated this. This was just another posting for me. If credit has to be given then it is the Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and his government in Haryana. It’s a woman centric government. The Haryana Government has a progressive attitude towards women in police. Not only I, we have Mamta Singh as Rohtak Range IG which is a challenging area. In Gurugram, we have one woman DCP and one ACP who is a part of the Indian Hockey Team. There are 529 women police personnel in Gurugram Police. This is an opportunity to change the perception of people.
