The trickle of policemen to politics continues in Karnataka, and the Assembly elections in May could see a record of sorts with as many as five recently retired officers, including two from the IPS, strongly placed to get tickets to contest the polls.

While in the past IPS officers have entered politics after retirement, this time they have gone in for voluntary retirement.

Subhash Bharani, 58, a 1975-batch IPS officer who was until recently an Additional Director General of Police and the head of the crime and technical services wing of the Karnataka police, has given up 14 months of service to be in line for a Congress ticket from the T Narasipur constituency in Mysore.

K C Ramamurthy, 55, a state promoted IPS officer from 1982, until recently an Additional Commissioner of Police for traffic in Bangalore, is giving up over four years of service to get a Congress ticket from the newly created Sarvagnanagar constituency in the Bangalore urban district.

When elections became imminent in Karnataka in November 2007, there were two other IPS officers, both considered close to the Janata Dal (Secular), with considerable years of service remaining, who were contemplating early retirement to plunge into politics, but both have chosen to stay on in service.

The non-IPS recent retirees from the Karnataka police who are in contention for poll tickets are B K Shivaram, M D Divakar and G A Bawa, all assistant commissioners of police in Bangalore until recently.

Shivaram, brother of AICC member B K Hariprasad and the head of the organised crime wing of the Crime Branch until his voluntary retirement last year, is tipped for a Congress ticket from the Malleswaram constituency in Bangalore.

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