Rao orders probe into clip showing him ‘lobbying’

The controversy over the appointment of the Bengaluru police commissioner is getting murkier by the day.

Three audio clips doing the rounds on social media purportedly show the current city police chief, Bhaskar Rao, lobbying for the post just before his predecessor, Alok Kumar, was appointed in June. This was when the Congress-JD(S) coalition was ruling the state and T Suneel Kumar was heading the Bengaluru police.

The clips show Rao talking to a man. Their topic? Discussions among Congress leaders in Delhi over the appointment of the Bengaluru police commissioner. The audio clips were aired by a Kannada news channel recently.

Curiously, Rao on Thursday ordered an enquiry into the clips. “This is a serious issue which warrants an administrative and legal probe. I have instructed the joint commissioner of police (crime) to conduct a detailed inquiry,” Rao said in an official statement. Based on the report, necessary action would be taken, he added. The Central Crime Branch (CCB), which reports to the joint commissioner of police (crime), will investigate the matter. A senior police officer said the authenticity of the clip would be ascertained only it was obtained from the original source.

Rao was appointed to the post on August 2, just a week after the BJP came to power. His appointment raised many eyebrows because his predecessor had taken office only 47 days earlier.