The Karnataka government has accepted the request for voluntary retirement made by the head of the state police’s internal security wing following a spat with the state police chief. The officer, Additional Director General of Police Kempaiah, was relieved of his duties as of Monday.

Kempaiah had applied for VRS after reportedly learning that Director General of Police Ajay Kumar Singh was seeking disciplinary action against him after a heated argument between the two at a senior police officers’ meeting on August 13.

Police officers say that “the real damage” has been to the internal security division. “The creation of a full-fledged unit with technical and all-round capabilities will now be set back by at least six months,” a senior police officer said.

Kempaiah had been handpicked to head the internal security division of the Karnataka Police that was created earlier this year following a series of terrorist attacks witnessed around the country, including Bangalore. A 1981-batch IPS officer who turned 58 on August 20, he still had two more years left in service and was in the midst of creating a team of officers and establishing a new office for the security division.

Senior police officers said the VRS request of Kempaiah, who has been on leave since August 20, was cleared on Saturday. The officer told The Indian Express that he was yet to receive any communication in this regard. On the reasons behind his sudden decision to quit, Kempaiah continued to maintain a public silence. “I cannot comment on that,” he said.

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