Kempaiah's connection with Mysore can never be forgotten both by the Police department and the people of Mysore as he has left an indelible mark of his extraordinary extra - official service both to the department, the men in Police uniform and citizens of Mysore. In so serving, he went far beyond his call of duty which in one case invited the displeasure of an officer who remarked, “Why take up the kind of work where money has to be raised through donation?” But then Kempaiah is not the one to be deterred by this kind of pessimism.
Kempaiah was first posted to our city as the Police Commissioner on July 8, 1996 and he served in that position for a little over three years till Nov.16, 1999. Though the city by then had seen six Police Commissioners, none of them could find a suitable building or, alternatively, get the authorities to construct a separate independent Police Commissioner’s Office building. All of them were operating from a portion of the KSRP Office building on Lalitha Mahal Road, opposite to ATI.
Kempaiah was not the one to continue this tradition of lethargy and indifference of his predecessors in finding a place for the Commissionerate. After scouting for places he zeroed in on the abandoned heritage building known as the Palace Band Stand in Nazarbad, where the deserted building was used by anti - social elements for many nefarious activities.
When I visited the place after Kempaiah showed interest in it, I saw condoms and rotting animal remains and blood. He restored the place like a Renaissance man, retaining its heritage architecture and enhancing its beauty by constructing a Police Parade Ground in front of it, which at present is in a state of neglect. The present Police Commissioner Sunil Agarwal may do well to restore it back to its former glory or ensure the high gate facing Irani Circle is kept closed. I remember having written about Kempaiah’s success story in my column Abracadabra, under the heading, “Kempaiah’s Fort”.
Beginning with this great work of restoration, he extended it to restore more than a dozen Police Stations all over the city which were built during the days of Maharajas, but were in a dilapidated condition ready to collapse anytime. The question naturally asked by cynics and those who claimed to be worshippers of honesty was, where did Kempaiah get all the money for this restoration job? Well, while he was able to persuade the government to allot funds, undoubtedly he also raised the deficit through voluntary donations, in kind and money.
I know at least half a dozen friends of mine who have donated money for this cause, though a couple of them told me that they became philanthropists for fear of the Police whose help they might need anytime being in the kind of business they are in — for example bars and restaurants, transport.
Kempaiah was also responsible for getting about 5 acres of land from philanthropist Dr. S.V. Balakrishna, who was the personal ophthalmist of the then Maharaja, near the Golf Club House (behind the Race Course) for setting up a bigger CAR (City Armed Reserve) Parade Ground. It houses CAR office, City Police Parade Ground, armoury, petrol bunk to supply petrol and diesel to city Police vehicles, vehicle maintenance section, tear gas section, City Police Training School, Garden and Dog Squad section. The parade ground also sports a plaque mentioning the name of the donor. This is indeed no mean achievement. The initiative came from Kempaiah himself and the accomplishment in this regard has no precedent. What a strength he has added to the city Police force. If a study is made to find out the name of the single Police officer who has done so much in this manner for the Karnataka Police Department, I am sure the name of Kempaiah will find the pride of place at the top like that of Abu Ben Adam in the poem with the same title.
The crowning glory for Kempaiah’s vision and missionary zeal to help his men in Khaki was in constructing the massive, imposing Police Bhavan externally designed after one of the famous landmarks of our city Lalitha Mahal Palace (Hotel). Probably this was his dream project that would enable even the poor Police Constable to celebrate his daughter’s or son’s wedding in a Kalyan Mantap which is as good or even better than the ones where the rich pay in lakhs to conduct the wedding.
Sadly, just before the construction was to be completed he was transferred, more for political reasons than for the reason his term was up. However, the sad part of the inauguration of this Kempaiah's dream-building, now famously known as “Karnataka Police Bhavan”, was that the Bhavan’s founding father Kempaiah himself was not invited while a couple of Police officers who worked day and night for its construction were invited. Even if they were, it looked rather reluctantly, according to my information.
When I mentioned this to Kempaiah, though he brushed it aside saying that these things do happen in government service, his face betrayed a hurt feeling. Ungrateful and jealous people working to deny the credit that should go to the deserving will always be there in our society. This is but one such example.
The next connect of Kempaiah to our city happened in 2004. He came here as the IGP Southern Range on Sept. 22, 2004 and was here till Oct.11, 2005 just over an year. This time too he went beyond his call of duty to serve his men in uniform, the Department and the city in his own special way. Sitting in his office, located in the District SP’s office building, he visualised a better road and ambience around the SP's building and his own official residence opposite to it — which did not have a compound wall or a proper gate befitting the status of its occupant.
Kempaiah the IGP, immediately got into action and lo and behold the very landscape of the place changed. The topography was recreated with a beautiful red-brick compound wall for his official residence, after evicting encroachers. He also got the KEB to shift the over hanging high tension wires passing in front of that heritage office building like an eyesore. It was Kempaiah’s idea to have a guest house inside the campus of the IGP's house which is quite useful looking at its present occupancy.
He had once taken me round that place along with the visiting KEB Superintending Engineer and showed me a place where he intended to build a Central Police Office in the heritage style of the Palace Office building near the City Corporation. Money? Government will be approached. Siddharamaiah was the Dy. Chief Minister. To our city's bad luck, this was not to be. Kempaiah was transferred immediately after JD (S) supremo removed Siddharamaiah as the Deputy Chief Minister for the assumed reason that Kempaiah was Siddharamaiah's man ! The vacant land to the left of the SP's building is still there if any IGP wants to pursue Kempaiah's dream of a Central Police Office.
However, the greatest achievement and also contribution of Kempaiah to his professional fraternity as also to the citizens of Mysore is the establishment of the English Medium Police Public School. Here I must share my personal experience even if my readers were to consider it immodest on my part.
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