Arun Salunke
Bengaluru: Shock, disbelief and grief have gripped city police, particularly the 2007-batch officers, following the death of inspector Arun Salunke in a helicopter accident near Joshimath, Uttarakhand, Friday. Earlier, inspector Ravi KB died in an accident in Madhya Pradesh on Aug 28 while on official duty. Both officers belong to the 2007 batch.
We’ve lost two inspectors in just over two months.
We don’t know what curse has befallen us,” a batchmate told TOI . Nagesh, a businessman and childhood friend of Nataraj, said the latter had called him around 11am Friday, stating they were sitting inside the chopper, waiting for the weather to clear. “Nataraj explained there was thick fog in the area and their pilot (Himanshu) had told them they would have to wait until the fog cleared,” he said. Nataraj and Arun became friends when the latter worked in Huliyurdurga police station, Kunigal, according to Nagesh.
For his batchmates, the loss has reopened painful memories of another colleague’s death just two months ago. “We are unable to come to terms with Arun’s death.
When he woke up around 3.30pm, the first news he heard was of Arun’s death.
“He would often tell us he wanted to provide his children with a good education and see them become top bureaucrats — IAS or IPS officers,” the batchmate said. Vivek Subbareddy, president of the Advocates’ Association of Bangalore (AAB), said Sudheer and Shankar were practising advocates. The family members of the victims will be heading to Joshimath to collect the remains,” he said.
The grief is particularly intense as colleagues remember Arun not just as a fellow officer, but as a close friend with big dreams for his family. He is survived by two children, whose future and education were always on his mind. For another batchmate, the shock came soon after he woke up. Having been on duty the previous night, he got some rest Friday. Meanwhile, the friends and family of the other victims — HS Nataraj (businessman from Huliyurdurga), Shankar Gowda (advocate from Tumakuru), Sudheer (advocate from Nagarabhavi in the city), and Bachihalli Pratap Gowda (city-based civil contractor) — are in shock too. “It is a great loss for the advocates’ fraternity… they were supposed to return to Bengaluru from Dehradun Friday night.
