Step daughter's gold smuggling, bus raid, now office PDA: Karnataka top cop K Rao's long list of controversies

NBetimes a twelvemonth after hitting headlines o'er possible involvement in au smuggling carried come out by his actor daughter Ranya Rao, Karnataka IPS officer and now-suspended DGP K Ramachandra Rao is in the news over alleged office romance, purported videos of which have gone viral on social media.K Ramachandra Rao, the Karnaraka director general of police of the Directorate of Civil Rights Enforcement (DCRE), has been suspended over allegations of engaging in inappropriate behaviour with women while on duty at his office. Track latest updates on K Ramachandra Rao hereA video purportedly showing K Ramachandra Rao in an alleged compromising position with a woman went viral on social media on Monday. However, the video appeared to be not from a single occasion but a compilation of multiple clips recorded in his office at different points in time.K Ramachandra Rao, not new to controversiesRamachandra Rao is not new to controversies, the most recent before the video scandal being a gold smuggling case in March last year, for which his daughter was arrested last year from Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport.Ranya Rao is the stepdaughter of K Ramachandra Rao and was allegedly using her relations and connections to evade security checks at airports during her visits. K Ramachandra Rao had distanced himself from her after the smuggling accusations, saying he doesn’t have any connection with her activities.He was sent on compulsory leave on March 15 after a probe was initiated into allegations of official protocol being flouted in that case. Later, he was reinstated and appointed to his current position.KR Rao, who was serving as DGP since October 2023, also served as the Inspector General of Police (IGP) of the Southern Range before this. During his tenure as the IGP, KR Rao’s name surfaced in a case involving a huge cash seizure dating back to 2014, HT had earlier reported.The controversial bus raidThe above-mentioned incident pertains to a private bus, heading towards Kerala’s Calicut, which was intercepted by police near Mysuru's Yelwal. The police claimed to have seized ₹20 lakh during the raid, however, merchants from Kerala, who were transporting the money, argued that the actual sum was ₹2.27 crore. They also accused the police of diverting a huge portion of the funds by colluding with a businessman.KR Rao’s handling of the case allegedly had serious shortcomings, according to revelations made by a CID investigation, a senior officer had said.It was found that some officers working under KR Rao’s supervision were involved in the alleged theft, the earlier HT report had mentioned. While he denied any wrongdoing on his part, Rao was reassigned after the case.He was serving as the chairman and managing director of the Karnataka State Police Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited before being promoted to the post of DGP in September 2023, for which he assumed office the next month that year.