Bengaluru: Rupak Kumar Dutta took charge as Director General and Inspector General of Police of Karnataka, on Tuesday, January 31, just a few months before his retirement, from outgoing DG and IGP Om Prakash.

Dutta was serving as Special Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs.

A 1981 Karnataka Cadre IPS Officer, Dutta was the Assistant Director General of the Lokayukta in 2009. This is when he pursued a law course from a private college. However, he landed in trouble after RTI activist G Mallesh filed petition against him on the grounds that he had either ignored his duty to attend the college or had forced the college authorities to give him full attendance. The case was quashed due to lack of evidence at the High Court and the petitioner then took it to the Apex Court, where Dutta received clean-chit.

Though Dutta was thought be eligible for the top cop’s post in 2015 itself, his posting as Special Director in the CBI posed impediment to him. Dutta is due to retire in October this year.

Names of H C Kishorechandra, M N Reddi and Neelamani Raju were making rounds for the post.