The Telangana government has undertaken a massive reshuffle of IPS officers in the state. As part of this, IPS officer Sajjanar has been appointed as Hyderabad Commissioner. Within the police department, Sajjanar has a track record of his own. Known as an ‘Encounter Specialist’, he had to step away from the uniform for a while to serve as the RTC Managing Director. Now, once again, he is set to take up the baton as the top cop of Hyderabad. Here’s a special story on his track record.
● IPS Sajjanar.
Just hearing this name makes criminals and rapists tremble. That’s because he is known as an encounter specialist. In the sensational Warangal acid attack case on engineering college girls, and later in the Disha rape case near Hyderabad, a total of seven accused were killed in encounters under his watch. Afterwards, the government appointed him as MD of TGRTC. There too, Sajjanar left his mark. Now, after four years, he will don the uniform once more. With crime rates in Hyderabad shooting up recently, discussions suggest that the government handed Sajjanar the baton again for this very reason.
● Warangal Encounter.
In 2008, while serving as Warangal SP, Sajjanar gunned down three accused who had carried out an acid attack on engineering students. At that time, he received widespread praise. The accused reportedly attacked police during crime scene re-enactment in an attempt to escape. The police, acting in self-defense, carried out the encounter. This event earned Sajjanar the tag of ‘Encounter Specialist’. His actions were widely appreciated across the state.
● Shadnagar Disha Case.
In March 2018, Sajjanar was appointed as Cyberabad Police Commissioner. He initiated several measures to reduce crime, focusing on women and child safety, cybercrime and road safety. He also introduced community policing and citizen-friendly policing policies.
On November 27, 2019, the brutal rape and murder of veterinary doctor Disha shocked the entire nation. Four accused – Mohammed Arif Pasha, Jollu Shiva, Naveen and Chennakeshavulu – raped and murdered her near Shadnagar ORR tollgate, later burning her body under a bridge at Chatanpally. Although there were no clues at the scene, Sajjanar’s team cracked the case within a week, arrested the accused, and gathered evidence. Public outrage grew, with demands that the accused be either hanged or killed in an encounter. When the accused were transported, mobs even pelted stones at the police vehicle. On December 6, 2019, during crime scene re-enactment, the accused allegedly tried to escape with weapons. Police shot them dead. High ranking officers claimed the encounter was in self defense. Sajjanar was widely praised, with massive public support, although human rights groups criticized the police for taking the law into their own hands, calling it a fake encounter and approached the courts.
● Sirpurkar Commission.
On December 12, 2019, the Supreme Court formed a three member judicial commission with a six-month mandate to probe the encounter. Justices V.S. Sirpurkar, P.S.B. Reka and Dr. D.R. Karthikeyan carried out extensive investigations and submitted a 387 page report. The commission concluded that the Disha encounter was fake and recommended that 10 police personnel face murder charges. It also revealed that three of the deceased were minors. Sajjanar appeared before the commission in 2021. Later, the state government transferred him as RTC MD, which many considered a punishment posting.
● Family Life.
Sajjanar’s full name is Vishwanath Channappa Sajjanar. He was born on October 24, 1968, in Hubli, Karnataka. He studied at Lions English Medium School, completed his B.Com at JG College of Commerce and earned an MBA from Kousali Institute of Management Studies. In 1996, he cleared the civil services exam and joined the Andhra Pradesh cadre as an IPS officer, continuing in Telangana after bifurcation. He is married to Anup Sajjanar and has two children. Sajjanar began his career as Assistant Superintendent of Police in Jangaon. He went on to hold several crucial positions, including Deputy Inspector General (DIG) and Inspector General (IG) of the Special Intelligence Branch, where he played a key role in curbing Maoist activities.