When the former DGP of Bihar Gupteshwar Pandey turned to politics (briefly) before taking the path of a `pracharak’, i.e a religious preacher, he made several headlines. And continues to do so. But what may not be so apparent is that Mr Pandey is not the first IPS officer to have found solace in sudden discovery of God. Before him, many senior officers have devoted their pre and post retirement life to serve God and find peace in prayers.
Here are a few of them:
Kishore Kunal
The 1972 batch officer of Gujarat Cadre had served on various important positions- he was the SP of Patna and DCP of Ahmedabad. He was also appointed as an Officer on Special Duty to handle Ayodhya issue and continued his service during the tenure of Prime Ministers Chandra Shekhar and P.V. Narasimha Rao. The ex-IPS who hails from Muzaffarpur District of Bihar played integral role in mediating between Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Babri Masjid Action Committee.
Mr Kunal is considered as one of the most successful IPS officers in the country. But, he took early retirement while 10 years of his service was still remaining. When asked about the reason he told Indian Masterminds, “The Khakhi was not in the mood to leave me, but I had to leave it. Actually, a life-changing incident happened which led to this. I was about to drown in river Ganga in Vidhyanchal (Uttar Pradesh) but somehow got saved. I consider that nothing sort of a miracle. I felt that I have been blessed with another life and it would be a waste if I still don’t devote myself to god and social services”.
So that’s how Mr Kunal’s life took an abrupt change. Now he is known as Acharya Kunal and is part of Mahavir Temple Trust, Patna. He has opened various schools and hospitals where the money from the trust is used. The ex-officer also served as the vice chancellor of Sanskrit University, Dharbhanga and Chairman of Religious Trust Board, Bihar for a short period. He is also actively involved in the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
‘The idea was not to become a Baba or Saint. I just wanted to connect charity with religion and continues to do so”, he said. He has also started Ramayana Research Institution in Ayodhya.
Anand Shankar
The 1973 batch officer served as the DGP of Bihar during 2009-10. Known as a God-fearing man, Mr. Shankar would often be with `tulsi’ beads and a `tika’ on his forehead. After the retirement, he went to Barsana in Mathura to devote his life to `Krishna Bhakti’ and `Gau Seva’ . In an interview to the media, he had said that his wife also took her last breath in Barsana and he wanted the same for him. He still lives there.
Devendra Kumar Panda
The 1971 batch officer of Uttar Pradesh Cadre had declared himself as ‘Second Radha’. The officer was posted as the IGP (Rule and Manuals), UP in 2009 when he publicly came out wearing attire of a woman calling himself ‘Radha’. His actions were called inappropriate for an officer and he had to leave the job.
