A 1972-batch Gujarat cadre IPS officer, Kishore Kunal, who had worked as ACP, Ahmedabad in the 70s as well as Senior SP (SSP) of Patna in the early 80s, was roped in the PMO and asked to join the newly formed Ayodhya Cell as its Officer on Special Duty (OSD).
BOBBY MURDER CASE
An upright officer, who brooked no nonsense in Gujarat or later in 1983 as SSP of Patna, Kunal had carved a niche for himself in civil services. The most significant example was his investigation into the then much-hyped Bobby murder case in which Bobby, a clerk, working as a telephone operator, was brutally killed allegedly by some of the top Congress leaders of Bihar.
[Also, by the same author: ‘Bihar’s Kokila’ Sharda Sinha: End of an era – The News Porter]
As SSP of Patna, Kunal left no stone unturned to solve the mystery and booked all those who were involved in the gruesome murder. The matter got so heated that a section of Congress leaders threatened to topple the then Congress Government headed by Dr Jagannath Mishra.
Perturbed, the chief minister, spoke to Kunal and asked about the details of the probe. “You will burn your hands if you get involved in the matter. You are a man of good character. So, please stay away from it,” the then Senior SP (SSP) told the Bihar chief minister.
Hours later, the chief minister handed over the matter to the CBI, which later exonerated all those Congress top-shots whom Kunal was about to apprehend following his scientific investigation into the Bobby murder case.
But, by then, Kunal had become a hero in the eyes of the middle class.
OSD IN PMO
V.P. Singh rightly inducted him into the PMO’s Ayodhya Cell as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) where Kunal worked even with VP’s successor, Chandrashekhar, and was assigned the task of bringing the representatives of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Babri Masjid Action Committee (BMAC) on one table for cordial talks and exchange of evidence.
[Also, by the same author: How Rahul Gandhi’s Bihar visit may have damaged Cong in an election year – The News Porter]
Tragically, the short-lived Chandrashekhar’s Government collapsed and the talks under the Ayodhya Cell remained inconclusive.
After serving as Inspector General (IG), Kunal took voluntary retirement in 2001.
Niitsh Kumar, who had worked as MoS in the V.P. Singh Government, was highly impressed with Kunal’s deft handling of crises. So, when he took over as Chief Minister of Bihar in November 2005, Nitish reconstituted the Bihar State Religious Trust Board and made Kishore Kunal its chairman.
[Also, by the same author: The PK factor: Has BPSC agitation given the Jan Suraaj founder a fresh lease of life? – The News Porter]
Kunal became the main architect behind the refurbishment of Patna’s famous and much-revered Mahavir Mandir.
Soon after taking over as the Chairman of the Bihar State Religious Trust Board (BSRTB), Kunal introduced greater transparency in financial matters and financial management of temples. Mahavir Mandir became a classic example of how a temple could generate revenue. And how, after deducting the necessary expenditures, the surplus fund could be used for social services.
Kunal, as Secretary of the Mahavir Mandir Trust, set up various hospitals in Patna under the banner of Mahavir Arogya Sansthan, including a cancer hospital.
His death on December 29 shocked many as he had dreamt of constructing the largest-ever Virat Ramayan Temple in East Champaran.
The Narendra Modi Government, keeping his contribution in mind, has rightly honoured him with Padma Shri on the eve of Republic Day in the field of civil services.
(The views are personal)
Comments 1