By Express News Service BENGALURU: As New Year and a new decade has arrived, there will be new hopes of change for the better. TNIE looks at potential changemakers who can make a difference in the lives of people at large This cop doesn't wield lathi, he plays it A constable attached to a rural police station in Hubballi is passionate about playing the flute. Lathi, or the baton, may be considered as a stick that instils confidence in law-abiding people and a kind of fear in the minds of those who deviated from legally acceptable paths. However, constable Chandrakant Shankar Hutagi has converted his lathi into a flute as he feels melodious music has the capacity to transform criminals. Shankar, who has been playing the flute from his school days, is also a theatre artist. He says he practised his favourite musical instrument for Kannada and Hindi songs and it helps him during free time while on bandobast duties outside the police station. He has a desire to achieve more in music and theatre art. But when? He says: After retirement. Ex-IPS man is on a new mission Former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of 2011 batch, K Annamalai, who resigned soon after the Lok Sabha elections in May this year, is now on a different path towards nation-building. Annamalai, along with other like-minded and "well meaning" people, is starting a volunteer-driven organisation in Karnataka and his home state, Tamil Nadu. The yet-to-be-named nonpolitical and non-religious organisation, scheduled to be launched in January 2020 in Udupi-Mangaluru in Karnataka and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, will elicit the participation of young leaders on issues of national interest. To begin with, the organisation will have three focus areas: The first is to form awareness and advocacy groups on matters pertaining to internal security, social sector spending and quality of political leadership. The second is to improve quality and delivery of education through seminars and workshops like a finishing school. The reason behind this is to look into the issues of unemployment on one hand, and the unemployability of youth in the corporate sector, on the other. The third area of focus of the organisation will be to improve hygiene standards in rural areas. Annamalai, who is loved by law-abiding people in the districts he was posted during his nine-year tenure as an IPS officer in Karnataka, chose to quit his high profile and coveted class one service career, following a visit to Kailash Mansarovar in 2018, which helped him change his priorities. He's out to curb pollution Ashok Malali, an entrepreneur, is a c r u s a d e r against air and noise pollution. Many NGOs and state government agencies may be creating awareness about pollution, but he has been working for the cause independently for more than 10 years. He tries to correct people when he finds them breaking traffic rules, using shrill horns or driving polluting vehicles. He also files complaints against offenders on the websites of RTO, Pollution Control Board, BMTC and other government agencies. He says there have been many instances where people abused him and shouted at him. But he still corrects offenders because he says he cannot tolerate them doing wrong. "When I pick up my child from school, I educate the kids around. I also create awareness among people whom I am professionally associated with," he says. There are instances where he filed complaints, say, against BMTC. He got response that the grievances were being addressed. He says there are some cases where he got a feedback. For her,beauty is more than skin-deep Dr Priya Sharath, a dermatologist and cosmetolgist, who was the first runner-up at the International Beauty Pageant-2019 held in Toronto, is a person to watch out for. Priya, who has been crowned Mrs Social Icon for her social service, is working for the betterment of acid attack victims. Their rehabilitation, she says, will be her priority. Hailing from Mangaluru, she completed her MBBS from JSS Medical College in Mysuru and MD from Fr Muller Medical College in Mangaluru. She is working as a professor in the department of dermatology at Rajarajeshwari Medical College & Research Centre, Bengaluru. She claims to have major plans to uplift acid attack victims. Namma Singham He won the Chief Minister's Gold Medal in 2001 for his investigation into serial church blast cases in Karnataka that took him to undivided Andhra Pradesh and Goa. Now, Deputy Superintendent of Police of Kalaburagi (rural sub-division), S S Hullur, was then posted as the police sub-inspector of Jewargi. One of the church blast sites was Wadi. Hullur, along with CID officers, investigated the case and arrested two key members of Deendar Anjuman — Izair Baig and Abbas Ali — who along with nine others were later convicted in the case. Hullur, who had joined the Karnataka Police Service in 1994 as a PSI, was later given the Home Minister's Award in 2008. He has risen from the ranks since then. In 2017, he neutralised a notorious gang, headed by Mallikarjun alias Karichirathe (Black Panther). Set up by gangster Market Satish, the gang had been involved in 21 organised crime cases of murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping and extortion. A case was registered against the gang under the Karnataka Control of Organized Crimes Act. Hullur had busted the illicit arms supply from Madhya Pradesh to Karnataka. Climbing up the service ladder This New Year, Karnataka police will see a lot of changes — from the change of guard at the police headquarters to the promotion and posting of senior and mid-level IPS officers, which would also lead to a reshuffle in Bengaluru city police. A new Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG&IGP) will be appointed on February 1 with the retirement of incumbent Neelamani N Raju on January 31. On the top, in the contenders' list is the Director General of Police (Internal Security Division) A M Prasad, who is the senior most IPS officer in the state after Raju and DGP & Commandant of Home Guards MN Reddi. Prasad has been on central deputation and was with the Intelligence Bureau (IB) for five years. Raju, Reddi and DGP, Karnataka Police Housing Corporation, R Auradkar will retire on January 31, leaving three posts of DGP vacant. Besides Prasad, who belongs to the 1985 batch of IPS, DGP (CID), Praveen Sood of 1986 batch of IPS also stands a good chance to be appointed as the head of nearly-one-lakh-strong police force in the state, said an official source. Three Additional Directors General of Police (ADGPs) of the 1987 batch of IPS — Alok Mohan (Railways), NS Megharikh (Prisons) and RP Sharma (Communications, Logistics & Modernisation) will be promoted as DGP and posted in the vacancies following the retirement of the three DGPs on February 1. In mid-2020, some senior IPS officers such as Megharikh and ADGP (Recruitment) T Suneel Kumar are due for retirement. - Compiled by Bala Chauhan, Chetana Belagere, Bosky Khanna and Mallikarjun Hiremath

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