‘Truth is stranger than fiction’ is an old adage. But truth is accepted, even if it is strange, when it comes from a person with a record of unimpeachable integrity. C. Dinakar was a member of the IPS for 38 years. He has the reputation of calling a spade a spade. His style would not have gladdened the heart of Dale Carnegie; but his integrity has remained unquestioned. He has come forward to tell the readers the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. The objective in writing this book is to make people in high places to realize the folly of their thoughtless actions, to make the common man realize that men in power do not always do what is right, and expediency governs human conduct when the instinct for self-preservation asserts itself. People do not know what exactly happens when the officers and ministers meet for discussions. This book gives an insight into such matters. Public memory is proverbially short: Veerappan’s crimes, what Dr. Rajkumar should have and should not have done, the hard work and toil of the police officers and men, the blunders of the pompous IAS officers, the dithering of the political leaders, the pressures exerted by the powerful lobby, and the agony of the common man will be forgotten sooner or later. But this book will remain as a document to remind the persons about what all happened during those agonizing 108 days and what normally happens under such circumstances. This book would have served its purpose if: VIPs think several times before rejecting the advice of the Police about security; Political leaders realize that IAS officers are not heaven-born angels; Pressure groups do not influence the decision-making process; and Ministers allow the Police to handle the law and order situations according to law and in the interest of the public at large.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR C. Dinakar
C. Dinakar was born on 4 February 1941 at Chennai. After passing M.Sc. from Presidency College at Chennai, he wrote the competitive examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission in 1962 and qualified for the Indian Police Service. He was allotted to the state of Karnataka. He rose from the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police to Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG and IGP) to head the Karnataka State Police. But his rise was an uphill struggle and a continuous fight against the establishment. Despite his outstanding record of service, he was not awarded the Police Medal for Meritorious Service and the President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service. He fought his cases against this injustice in the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) whereupon the President of India was pleased to award these two medals to him in 1994 and 1996 respectively. He was superseded for the post of DG and IGP in 1997. he challenged the government's action in the CAT, the High Court of Karnataka and the Supreme Court of India, and again in the CAT and the High Court. He personally argued his cases in all these for a and won. Finding no other alternative S.M. Krishna's government appointed him as the State Police Chief on 8 April 2000. he retired on superannuation on 28 February 2001. The central government did not consider him for the post of CBI Director in 1998. Instead, it appointed his batch mate R.K. Raghavan as the Director. Dinakar challenged it in the CAT, argued the case in person and won. The government appealed in the High Court, where Dinakar argued the case again in person and won; Attorney General Soli Sorabji argued for the government. The government has filed an appeal in the Supreme Court where it is pending. Karnataka's super star Dr. Rajkumar was abducted by brigand Veerappan on the night of 30 July 2000 and was held as hostage for 108 days. Dinakar as the State Police Chief played a crucial role during this period, and he is competent to write the inside story which the world should know. Intending to quit the service because of continuous and unbearable harassment, he studied L.L.B. in the 1980s. After retirement, he enrolled as an Advocate. He is now practicing in the KAT, CAT, and the High Court at Bangalore. Dinakar has inherent artistic talents. He has contributed the illustrations in the book.
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