Bengaluru 24 May

The promotion of senior IPS officer Alok Kumar to the rank of Director General of Police (DGP) now lies in doubt, as the State government has reportedly ordered a fresh departmental inquiry into the 2019 phone tapping controversy — despite an earlier probe into the matter having been concluded.
Alok Kumar, a 1994-batch IPS officer currently serving as Additional Director General of Police (Training), has sent a legal notice to the Chief Secretary of the state, challenging the move. Official records accessed through RTI show that the earlier departmental inquiry was closed with government approval, yet no promotion was granted.
The allegations date back to Kumar's tenure as a senior officer in City during the Congress-JD(S) coalition era. He was accused of unauthorised phone tapping and illegal collection of call data records of over 50 individuals. Though the CBI later filed a closure report, the case remains legally active due to objections by another senior retired officer, according to sources who added that the fresh inquiry could pave the way for Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda — from the same IPS batch — to be promoted instead.