Bengaluru DCP Annamalai quits, may join politics

Bengaluru, May 28 (IANS) Bengaluru South Division Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) K. Annamalai resigned from his job, here on Tuesday.

"I had submitted my resignation from the Indian Police Service (IPS). It might take some time for the official process to be over. I am jumping the gun as I wanted to set straight all of the speculations going around," said Annamalai in a Facebook post.

According to speculations, the 2011 batch IPS officer may join politics.

On the speculations that he will soon plunge into politics in his home state (Tamil Nadu), Annamalai said life itself was too big to talk of opportunities for a mortal like him.

State's first woman IPS officer D. Roopa, currently the Inspector General of Police (IGP) in Railways and based in Bengaluru, tweeted that she spoke to the DCP after he tendered his resignation.

"He (Annamalai) is plunging into politics. It requires guts, boldness to leave a cushy, secure, hard earned IPS job. It's heartening to see such achievers and youngsters diving into politics. Wishing him all the best," said Roopa in the tweet.

Annamalai, 33, hails from Karur in Tamil Nadu and graduated in mechanical engineering from PSG College in Coimbatore and business administration from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Lucknow.

"For people who are speculating what's next for me. I am too small a man to have lofty ambitions. I just wanted to take some time out and enjoy those small things in life, which I had missed out, be a good father to my son -- who deserves every bit of my time as he is fast growing up, get into farming back home and see whether my sheep still listens to me as I am no more a cop," he said.

Noting that his visit to Kailash Manasarovar in Tibet last year was an eye-opener, he said the pilgrimage helped him to set his priorities in life better.

"The death of IPS officer Madhukar Shetty (at the age of 47 in December 2018) in a way made me to re-examine my life. As all good things have to come to an end, I have decided that my time in khakhi is done with," said Annamalai.

"If my resignation has caused anguish to you, my sincere apologies for that. I honestly believe I have to do this now. It's been an emotional time for me and my best friend who happens to be my wife as well helped to smoothen it out," he said in the post that went viral and is still trending on the social media.

Since his posting in Karnataka as a young IPS officer in 2011, Annamalai held various senior posts, including Superintendent of Police in districts like Chikkamgalur and Udupi in the state's west coastal districts.

"The sense of pride a khakhi (police uniform) brings is unparalleled and the camaraderie I shared with fellow colleagues will never be forgotten," said Annamalai.

Terming the job of a policeman as the closest to god, the officer said a high pressure job like that of a policeman had its own shortcomings as he had to miss many functions and could not be with the people who stood by him in times of need.

"Though I have lived every moment of my khakhi, I have been in the service for nine years, I felt a bit stifled at times as I could not be outspoken when I wanted to," he said.