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Bhaskar Rao is an Indian politician and a former police officer of the 1990 batch of the Karnataka cadre. In 2019, he began to serve as the police commissioner of Bengaluru City Police. He has worked as the Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) in Karnataka State Reserve Police and the internal security division. In 2021, he was appointed as ADGP for railways. In 2022, he joined Aam Aadmi Party (AAP); however, in 2023, he left Aam Aadmi Party and joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Wiki/Biography
Bhaskar Rao was born on Sunday, 24 May 1964 (age 58 years; as of 2022) in Chennai. His zodiac sign is Gemini. He grew up in Basavanagudi, Bengaluru. He studied at Sri Kumaran Children’s Home in Jayanagar, Bengaluru. Later, he studied at Notre Dame Academy in Patna, Bihar. He did a pre-university course in history, economics, sociology, and political science at St. Joseph’s Arts & Science College in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He holds a degree in psychology, economics, and sociology from National College in Jayanagar, Bengaluru. Later, he earned a Master of Arts degree in economics from Bengaluru University. When he was studying at college, he was a cadet at NCC.
A photo of Bhaskar Rao in his college days
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 9″
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
He was born to Modiyam Ganga Raju and Naga Ratnam. He has one sister.
Bhaskar Rao with his parents and sister
Wife & Children
His wife, Chandrika Pani Rao, is a paediatrician. The couple has two children, one son and one daughter.
Bhaskar Rao with his wife and children
Signature/Autograph
Career
IPS
Superintendent of Police
In October 1992, he was appointed as assistant superintendent of police in Davanagere, Karnataka. In March 1993, he was appointed as the assistant superintendent in Shivamoga, Karnataka. In March 1994, he was promoted to deputy commissioner of police in the Hubli and Dharwad areas in Karnataka. In September 1996, he was appointed as superintendent of police in the Madikeri area of Kodagu District, Karnataka. In December 1999, he was appointed as the superintendent of police in the United Nations in Yugoslavia. From April 2001 to July 2002, he served as superintendent of police in a rural district in Karnataka.
Managing Director
In August 2002, he became the managing director of Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation Limited in Bengaluru. In June 2003, he left his position as the managing director.
Commissioner of Police
From July 2003 to February 2004, he served as a deputy commissioner of police in Bengaluru.
Director
From March 2004 to May 2007, he served as the director of the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation in Mysuru, Karnataka. He was also selected as one of the board members of the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation.
Commissioner of Police
From June 2007 to January 2008, he served as the commissioner of the police in Mysuru, Karnataka.
Commissioner of Transport & Road Safety
From July 2008 to May 2011, he served as the commissioner of transport and road safety in Bengaluru. He was a member of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board. He was also a member of the Northwest Road Corporation. Later, he became a member of the State Transport Authority.
Inspector General of Police
From May 2011 to September 2013, he served as inspector general of police. He was held in charge of many departments including coastal security, state industrial security, anti-Naxal operations, railway security, and police training.
Additional Director General of Police
In January 2015, he was appointed as the additional director general of the police in Bengaluru. From January 2015 to June 2015, he handled state criminal records and the police IT department. He took care of the directorate of civil rights enforcement from July 2015 to December 2015. From January 2016 to December 2016, he was held in charge of crimes, technical services, forensic lab, and canine squad. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic in India, he served as the special nodal officer to supervise the implementation of rules and regulations regarding COVID-19 in the Vijayapura, Bagalkot, and Belagavi districts. He introduced a set of COVID-19 guidelines by requesting members of all associations of merchants and the Belagavi Chamber of Commerce to use masks and sanitisers and follow social distancing rules.
Commissioner of Police
In August 2019, he was appointed as the commissioner of police in Bengaluru.
Politician
In 2022, he joined Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Bhaskar Rao with Arvind Kejriwal, co-founder of AAP, in Delhi
After being a member of AAP for 11 months, he left AAP and joined BJP in March 2023. In an interview, while talking about why he left AAP and said that members of AAP do not work like a political party but like an MNC. He said,
They (AAP) say one thing and do another, they are an extremely quixotic party, whimsical, they don’t take each other into confidence, and they don’t function like a party but an MNC (multinational company). They don’t trust their own leaders over there, they have external paid observers to keep an eye on their leaders.”
Awards & Honours
- 2000: Honoured with United Nations’ Medal for the Services rendered in International Peacekeeping in a warzone
- 2008: Received Police medal for meritorious service on Indian Independence day
- 2015: Received President’s medal for distinguished service on Indian Independence day
Facts/Trivia
- Bhaskar Rao is a fitness enthusiast. He is a long-distance runner and an avid cyclist. He has participated in many marathons such as Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon, Pondicherry Marathon, Bangalore Half Marathon, and Kaveri Trail Half Marathon.
Bhaskar Rao while cycling
- In 2008, while he was serving as commissioner of transport and road safety in Bengaluru, he took part in the ‘Tour of Nilgiris,’ a 900 km cycling event of eight days, to promote the use of cycles as a means of transport.
- In 2014, Bhaskar Rao became the first commissioner of police in Belgaum City, Karnataka.
- In 2017, he led ‘Karnataka Darshan,’ a cycling event in which a group of 60 policemen covered more than covered 1756 kilometres on cycles across Karnataka to support ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan’ and spread awareness about the use of toilets, plastic waste, ecological conservation, and more.
Bhaskar Rao with other policemen during the ‘Karnataka Darshan’ cycling event in Bengaluru
- He started an initiative to plant trees under which KSRP officers had to plant 2200 teak saplings within the premises of India Reserve Battalion (IRB) Munirabad, Karnataka.
- In 2020, he gave a TEDx speech on the topic ‘Importance of Community Relationships.’
- In May 2020, he faced criticism after he attended a church service at St Mark’s Cathedral while violating the Indian government norms on social distancing.
- In 2020, he requested an Indian filmmaker Yogaraj Bhat to make a music video to motivate and appreciate volunteers, who helped people to fight COVID-19.