By Shruti Sunderraman

IPS officer Neelmani Raju has been appointed as the DG & IGP (Director General and Inspector General of Police) for Karnataka. This makes her the first female chief of police in the state. She took over the position from previous DG & IGP RK Dutta on October 31.

According to a report, the move to appoint Raju to the top cop position in Karnataka came after heavy consideration. Raju, a 1983-batch IPS graduate, was being considered for the position alongside Criminal Investigation Department (CID) chief HC Kishore Chandra and MN Reddi who heads the Anti-Corruption Bureau. But Raju’s experience as the second most experienced serving cop in Karnataka along secured her the position.

She served in Karnataka for ten years before serving in the Intelligence Bureau (IB) in 1993 on deputation. She is a native of Roorkee in Uttarakhand. According to a report, her work at the IB for 23 years was commendable, leading her to be given the post of joint director in the IB in 2016. After this, she returned to the Karnataka cadre as a Director General of Police (DGP) rank officer. Before being appointed as DG& IGP, she served as the DGP of Internal Security Division and Fire and Emergency Services.

Raju’s appointment has been hailed by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and fan favourite cop, DIG Roopa.

Congratulations to Karnataka’s first woman DG-IGP Neelamani N Raju on her appointment. Wish her a successful tenure in the post.

— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) October 31, 2017

Congratulations to Karnataka’s first woman DG-IGP Neelamani N Raju on her appointment. Wish her a successful tenure in the post.

— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) October 31, 2017

The country has seen more and more appointments of women in top position in the police in the past two years. In February last year, Tamil Nadu cadre IPS officer Archana Ramasundram became the first women chief of a paramilitary force. In more recent memory, Kerala’s first female IPS officer R Sreelekha was appointed as the state first female DGP in September this year. The spate of capable women being appointed in positions of power is very encouraging for the participation of women in the police force. It also helps further break stereotypes of women within the police force.