Even as Karnatakas anti-Naxal force carries out intensified combing operations in the forests of the Western Ghats,its commanding unit is currently headless owing to a spat between two top police officials of the state. Additional Director General of Police Kempaiah,who heads the newly created internal security division running the Naxal operations in the state,has gone on a months leave after a row with DGP Ajay Kumar Singh during a departmental meeting. After the DGP sought disciplinary action against the man he handpicked as his internal security officer,Kempaiah has sought voluntary retirement from the force. Having led the hunt in Karnataka for Rajiv Gandhis assassins as well as the search for brigand Veerappan,Kempaiah has always been a controversial figure. The ADGP is also entangled in a still-pending corruption investigation. According to sources,the spat between Kempaiah and Singh was a clash of egos,and erupted at an August 13 meeting. The DGP had called officers for talks in preparation for an internal security meeting of chief ministers scheduled in New Delhi. According to those present at the meeting,Kempaiah reacted sharply to DGP Singhs instruction that he reply in brief to questions posed to him. When Singh asked him to leave the room,the ADGP reportedly countered him by pointing out mistakes made by the DGP in his career. Both Singh and Kempaiah have refused to comment on the issue. While a senior officer said the state government was trying its best to bring about a rapprochement between the two,Chief Secretary Sudhakar Rao denied this.
