Introduction
Praveen Sood is the Director General of Police (DGP) in Karnataka, India. He has faced criticism from the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president D K Shivakumar for allegedly favoring the BJP and filing cases against Congress workers. Sood has been the head of the police force in Karnataka since January 2020 and has served in various positions since joining the Indian Police Service in 1986. He is known for his innovative initiatives, such as the “Namma 100” emergency response system and the “Suraksha” and “Pink Hoyasala” apps for women and children in distress.
Sood’s Background and Career
Himachal Pradesh native Praveen Sood received his education at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi. He began his career in the Indian Police Service in 1986, holding a number of jobs before serving as the government of Mauritius’s police advisor from 1999 to 2002. Sood took a sabbatical in 2003 to pursue his Post Graduation in Public Policy and Management from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, and the Maxwell School of Governance at New York’s Syracuse University. He returned to the police force in 2004 and became the Commissioner of Police of Mysuru, where he focused on transforming the traffic situation through various campaigns and engineering improvements.
Sood’s Innovative Initiatives
During his tenure as the Bengaluru city police chief, Sood launched “Namma 100”, an emergency response system for citizens in distress. The system was managed by multilingual “Communication Officers” who promised to pick up every call within 15 seconds and visit every scene of distress within 15 minutes with the support of 276 emergency response vehicles spread throughout the city. Sood also launched the “Suraksha” and “Pink Hoyasala” apps, managed by all-women police officials, especially for women and children in distress.
Sood’s Controversies
In March, D K Shivakumar accused Sood of being an “agent of the BJP” and filing cases against Congress workers while turning a blind eye towards the BJP. Shivakumar warned that the Congress would take action against Sood if it returned to power. The controversy erupted after BJP workers erected an arch in Mandya hailing Vokkaliga chieftains Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda, who some claim killed 18th-century Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan. Sood was attacked by Shivakumar, who referred to him as “good for nothing” and demanded that a complaint be filed against him and that he be taken into custody.
