Before donning their khaki uniforms and carrying batons, several IPS officers in Karnataka had a stint with the either the white coats or tech firms. 13 IPS officers serving in Karnataka police are certified doctors, and more than 25 officers have an engineering degree. In total, more than 25 percent of the serving IPS officers in Karnataka are either doctors or engineers.
Over the last decade, the proportion of officers with professional degrees are increasing in the police department, which was once considered a domain of UPSC candidates from a general studies background. So why are the MBBS and engineering graduates attracted towards civil service?
Also with more technically trained officers coming into the force, a debate whether these officers should be used for more for specialised branches like cybercrime and forensics, which could better utilise their technical backgrounds has been gaining momentum as well.
However, there are oppositions to the argument as well, surprisingly from those with a technical background.
Why IPS After Medicine?
Rohini Katoch Sepat, a 2008 batch IPS officer and a MBBS graduate has served in several posts, including DCP Southeast Bengaluru and director of forensic labs. Rohini, who comes from a family of doctors, said that even though her aim was to enter the civil services, she knew that UPSC was a gamble.
“It is well known that civil service examination is one of the toughest examinations in country, and I wanted to have a strong backup career, in case my civil service ambitions didn’t materialise. It gave me confidence, while investing my time in civil services, that I could always make a career as a doctor in case things did not work out,” she said.
Rohini, however, added that even though she had studied medicine for five years, she didn’t choose it as a subject in the civil services examination.
IITians and Techies
The engineering backgrounds of the police officers in the state has paved way for radical changes in policing. From days of the older generation of IPS officers like Praveen Sood, who played a huge role in the digitalisation of the Karnataka police, to the new breed of officers like MN Anucheth and Abhishek Goyal, who are engineers, and have introduced sophisticated software and artificial intelligence, they stand witness to the change their technical background has brought to policing.
The Wind of Change After 1979
Praveen Sood, the former Bengaluru police commissioner, was a graduate of IIT Delhi. According to him, this trend of candidates with professional degrees entering service became prominent after 1979. “Till 1979, humanities and commerce were the prominent subjects for civil services. However, in 1979, the decision to add other subjects, including subjects of professional courses for civil service examinations, attracted many doctors and engineers,” he said.
According to him, till the 1990s, before privatisation of the Indian economy took place, civil services were sought after. However, there was a lull in the technically trained candidates applying for civil services after the dotcom revolution, and the opportunities it brought along. “But when the depression in the private section happened in mid 2000s, there was rush for civil services again, and the trend continues,” he said.
Does Medical training Help in Investigation?
A resounding yes was the answer to the question. Rohini, who served the director of forensic labs said that because of her medical background, processes of the forensic labs could be made quicker. “As I had a basic knowledge of medicine, it was easy for me to understand what my subordinates in the forensic labs were doing, and helped them fasten the process,” she said.
She also added that even in core policing, her medicine background helped. Referring to a recent of murder in Kolar district, where decomposed body was found, she said it was because of the medical training she could find out that unexplained marks on the body were due to ant bites.
Being Tuned to Tech a Boon
Abhishek Goyal, IPS officer and engineering graduate from IIT, said being tuned towards technology helps in the investigation, however, it something even experience can provide, he says.
Goyal, was noted for his technical investigations in the Church street bomb blast case, where an algorithm was used for analysing a large number of mobile numbers, and his contribution to the technical investigation in the probe against the pro-Islamic State twitter handler – Mehdi Masroor Biswas.
“Police service is about having a mix of different backgrounds and a technical background certainly helps. As engineers, we are focused on problem solving. However, it doesn’t mean that others don’t have that ability,” he added.
Technically Qualified for Specialised Jobs?
Since the surge of professionally trained candidates in the services, a debate has been active on whether specialised jobs like cybercrime, forensics, and financial crimes should be given to officers with a technical background.
Senior officers added, as there several professionally qualified doctors coming into the service, many specialists are operating in the jobs, unlike in the past. However, this leads to another argument.
Not having a professional degree doesn’t mean that an IPS officer can’t perform the specialised job effectively. “As much as the professional knowledge helps, there are training modules in areas like cybercrime or technical aspect of the investigation given during training. Several officers coming from the general background have excelled in the aspects. It is understood that you are an IPS officer, and are smart enough to learn new things quickly,” said an officer on the condition of anonymity.
Policing Is More Than Technical Knowledge
Another IPS officer and engineering graduate, who recently joined the Karnataka police, said that he doesn’t want his educational background to restrict his opportunities in the police department. “I certainly don’t want to spend my entire career in a technical wing because of my educational background. I want to explore other aspects of policing as well,” she said.
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