CBI Officer Who Led RG Kar Rape-Murder Probe Among 31 Awarded With Police Medals 0n 77th Republic Day

V Chandrasekhar, a senior officer of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) who supervised the probe into the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College, is among 31 CBI officers honoured with police medals on the occasion of the 77th Republic Day.

The awards were announced by the government on Sunday as part of the annual Republic Day honours.

President's Medal for Distinguished Service

V Chandrasekhar, a 2000-batch IPS officer of the Gujarat cadre, has been awarded the President's Medal for Distinguished Service, one of the most prestigious honours in policing. At the time of the investigation, he was serving as Joint Director in the CBI.

Under his supervision, the agency completed the investigation in the RG Kar case in a time-bound manner. The probe led to the filing of a chargesheet and the conviction of the main accused within months, a development that was widely noted for its speed and coordination.

Along with Chandrasekhar, several other officers were also awarded the President's Medal for Distinguished Service. These include Superintendent of Police Amit Srivastava, Additional Superintendent of Police Mukesh Sharma, Sub-Inspector Pramod Kumar Yati, Assistant Sub-Inspector Chaman Lal, and Head Constable Ramu Golla.

Medals for Meritorious Service

In addition to the President's Medal recipients, 25 CBI officers have been awarded the Police Medal for Meritorious Service (PMMS) for their dedicated work.

The list includes senior officers such as C Venkata Subba Reddy, a 2007-batch IPS officer currently posted as Joint Director in the CBI, and Sadanand Shakarrao Date, who recently returned to his cadre as Inspector General after serving as DIG in the agency.

Other awardees include Deputy Legal Advisor Manmohan Sharma, Additional SPs Baidyanath Samal and Kailash Sahu, and several Deputy Superintendents of Police, inspectors, technical staff, and constables who played key roles in various investigations.

Recognising Service and Commitment

The Republic Day police medals are awarded every year to recognise exceptional service, professionalism, and commitment to duty among police and investigative officers.

This year's honours highlight the collective effort of officers across ranks, from senior leadership to ground-level staff, who contributed to complex investigations and upheld the rule of law.

The recognition of officers involved in the RG Kar Medical College case also underscores the importance of timely and thorough investigations in cases involving serious crimes, especially those that shake public conscience.