Kala Ramachandran, Gurugram’s first woman police chief

Kala Ramachandran, an IPS officer, has been selected as Gurugram’s first female police commissioner. She is an IPS officer from the 1994 batch.

On February 15th, Kala Ramachandran took over as police chief from outgoing police chief KK Rao, who was relocated to the Centre for Police Training and Research in Bhondsi, near Gurgaon.

Ramachandran formerly served as the Haryana government’s Principal Secretary. She was also the Director of the ADGP State Vigilance Bureau (H). Since the introduction of the commissioner system in 2007, she has become the district’s first female police commissioner.

Ramachandran stated that improving individuals’ lives and making business easier will be her top priorities. “Because Gurgaon has such a diverse environment, from rural to corporate to industrial to urban residential, the focus would be on making business easier and life easier for everyone.” “Police should be focused on improving the lives of ordinary individuals,” she stated.

According to the police chief, traffic management and road safety are the top priorities in this regard. “Traffic is something that impacts everyone. Citizens’ safety from street crimes such hooliganism, snatchings, eve-teasing, and drunken driving, as well as the safety of women and youngsters, will remain top priorities. Women should feel protected, and being able to leave the house without fear is a sign of a mature society. “We’ll also concentrate on commercial crimes and cybercrime,” she added.

She went on to say that after taking command and meeting with police personnel on the ground, a better assessment of main issues and concerns would be formed, and plans to combat crime would be formalised as a result.

Ramachandran previously worked as a police officer in Rewari, Fatehabad, and Panchkula. She was on central deputation to the Intelligence Bureau from 2001 onwards. From 2017 until 2020, she served as the director of the North Eastern Police Academy in Meghalaya, before returning to the cadre in August 2020. She has worked for the ADGP State Vigilance Bureau and the ADGP Crime Against Women (CAW) Headquarter.

K K Rao, an IPS officer from the 1996 batch, has been promoted to Inspector General of Police (IGP), CPT and R, Bhondsi. Rao had started his second term as commissioner in Gurgaon on June 30, 2020. He held the position for eight months, from June 2018 to February 2019, before being promoted to Faridabad police commissioner.

Kala Ramachandran’s Biography-

• Kala Ramachandran is the first woman to be appointed as Gurugram’s police commissioner.

• She is also the second additional director general of police (ADGP) level IPS officer to be appointed as Gurugram police chief. Mohammad Akil was the first to hold the position, which he held from February 2019 to July 2020.

• She was born into the Tamil Nadu cadre but married into the Haryana cadre.

• She has worked as a Superintendent of Police in Rewari, Fatehabad, and Panchkula in the past.

• She was on central deputation with the Intelligence Bureau from 2001 onwards. She worked for the agency until June 2020, when she was sent to the Haryana cadre.

• From 2017 to 2020, she was the director of the North Eastern Police Academy in Meghalaya.

• In August 2020, she returned to Haryana, where she worked as the ADGP crime against women (CAW) headquarters and the ADGP State Vigilance Bureau at the Haryana police headquarters.

• She was later assigned to Panchkula as an additional director general of police (ADGP) before being appointed transport secretary in September 2021.

• Kala Ramachandran is married to Navdeep Singh Virk, a prominent IPS officer who earlier served as the police commissioner of Gurugram. He is now the Principal Secretary of the Department of Transportation.

Background-

KK Rao, the outgoing police chief of Gurugram, is an IPS officer from the 1996 batch. He has been transferred to Bhondsi as Inspector General of Police (IGP).

He was the Police Commissioner of Gurugram for two terms, first from June 2018 to February 2019 and subsequently from June 30, 2020 until the present. He was relocated to Faridabad in the interim.