Dr Shankhabrata Bagchi, the Police Commissioner of Visakhapatnam, is a distinguished officer whose remarkable journey from a brilliant medical student to a top-ranking IPS officer reflects his unwavering dedication to public service. A triple gold medalist during his MBBS, Dr Bagchi was also adjudged the Best All-Round IPS Probationer in 1998, receiving prestigious awards such as the Prime Minister’s Baton, Home Minister’s Revolver, Indian Police Medal for Meritorious Services, President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Services and the Utkrisht Seva Medal, among others. He holds an LLB from Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur and an MBA from the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.
Dr Bagchi’s career has been marked by significant milestones—from curbing factional violence during his first posting as ASP in Jammalamadugu, Kadapa district, to witnessing and responding to the Hyderabad Lumbini Park bomb blast in 2007. Prior to his current role, he served as Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order). Today, as Vizag’s City Police Commissioner, he remains committed to addressing emerging challenges like cybercrime, drugs and narcotics and traffic management. “For Vizag city, focus is needed on areas like cybercrime, drugs and narcotics and traffic management. We are soon launching an innovative, unique AI-driven traffic management system,” says Dr Bagchi in an exclusive conversation with Sulogna Mehta
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No coaching? No problem
From childhood, I was very studious and used to read voraciously. Therefore, I did not require any coaching for the Civil Services exam. I had taken Medical Science as my optional paper and cleared the exam in my very first attempt in 1996. After completing my training from Mussoorie and Hyderabad, I joined the services in 1998.
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Roots in West Bengal, Wings in the IPS
My schooling and college life took place in West Bengal, mostly in boarding institutions, away from home. I studied at St. Xavier’s School in Bardhaman district and later at Narendrapur Ramakrishna Mission. After completing my MBBS from Calcutta Medical College, the oldest medical college in India, I pursued an MD in General Medicine from Ahmedabad. During my MD, I was selected for the Indian Police Service (IPS).
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Tracing my roots
My parents’ families trace their roots to Netrokona in Mymensingh and Vikrampur, in present-day Bangladesh. They migrated to West Bengal, mostly before and even after the partition of the country. My father was an MD doctor from AIIMS, Delhi, while my mother was an advocate with an LLB degree.
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Honeymoon at the City of Destiny
After our marriage, friends often asked where we planned to go for our honeymoon. They suggested extravagant destinations like the mountains of Nepal, Honolulu, Europe, or a beachside retreat. However, budget constraints made such lavish options impractical. In those days, people from West Bengal typically preferred coastal towns like Digha or Himalayan hill stations like Darjeeling. But I had no plans for either. This left my wife feeling disappointed, and she remarked, “While everyone is going to one place or another, we’re not going anywhere for our honeymoon!” While traveling back to my posting in Jammalamadugu, Kadapa, by train, I turned to her and said, “How about we go somewhere for our honeymoon where you can see both the hills and the sea at the same place?” She pondered over it, curious about where that could be. When the train pulled into Visakhapatnam (Vizag) station, I got down with her. It was January 2001, and we spent a memorable week in Vizag. She was thrilled to discover a scenic destination where both hills and the sea blended seamlessly. Fast forward to 2024, I found myself posted as the Police Commissioner of Vizag City—a city I had first visited during our honeymoon.
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My trio of passion and purpose
My wife, Suvasree, is a filmmaker and has directed two films. She intends to make a feature film or web series on my life. My elder daughter, Tisya, secured a first-class first in LLB and is now joining the Telangana High Court as a research assistant. My younger daughter, Stuti, is in her final year of MBBS at ESIC Medical College in Sanathnagar, Hyderabad. She has got distinctions in every subject. My daughters are very sincere about their studies and careers.
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When Duty Called Louder Than the White Coat
After completing my MBBS from Calcutta Medical College, I was pursuing an MD in General Medicine from Ahmedabad. I also worked for a while in a corporate hospital in Kolkata. Although I was destined to be a doctor, two incidents that occurred in quick succession between 1995 and 1996 changed my perspective. They made me realize that continuing in the medical profession wasn’t my true calling. Instead, I felt that joining the police force would provide me with an opportunity to tackle corrupt forces. I cleared the Civil Services Exam in my first attempt in 2006, at a time when I was still pursuing my MD, and subsequently joined the Indian Police Service (IPS).
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Choosing Integrity Over Convenience
As the best all-round probationary officer, I had the privilege of choosing the state where I wanted to serve. I did not opt for my native cadre, West Bengal, because the work environment under the Left Front government was not conducive. I felt that I wouldn’t be able to work independently, free from political interference. Alphabetically, the next option after West Bengal was Andhra Pradesh, and I decided to choose the AP cadre, which had not yet been bifurcated into Telangana. In Andhra Pradesh, I found an environment where I could work without political pressure, remain neutral, and be given a free hand to discharge my duties as per the dictates of my conscience. From the very beginning, I made it clear that I would not bow to any political party.
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Leadership across regions
My first posting was as Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) in Jammalamadugu, Kadapa (YSR district). I then served as the first Officer on Special Duty (OSD) for the entire Rayalaseema region. Following that, I held the position of Superintendent of Police in three districts of undivided Andhra Pradesh—Nizamabad, Kurnool, and Guntur. Additionally, I was deputed as Deputy Inspector General (DIG) with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Kolkata for four years. Afterward, I served as Inspector General (IG) in both the Patna Zone and the North East Zone.
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Two incidents that prompted a career switch:
Corruption in the medical field
The first incident took place during my internship at Calcutta Medical College. One night, after returning from my rounds, I noticed a patient who had undergone a blood transfusion had died. Upon closer examination, I found that the blood administered to him had expired. It was brought from a private blood bank, which should not have been done in a government setup. I realized something was fishy and felt that some people from the medical college must have colluded with the private blood bank. Unsuspecting patients were dying, and they wouldn’t even know that expired blood had been given to them. Instead, some other reason would be mentioned on their death certificates. I threatened to lodge a police complaint, locked the blood vials inside the refrigerator in the department, and took the keys with me. Since it was late at night, I decided to file the complaint early the next morning. The next day, when I came to check, I found the refrigerator open, and the contents inside had been wiped clean. There was no trace of any vial. A friend, in confidence, told me that since I had shouted and alerted everyone the previous day about my intention to lodge a complaint and get those involved arrested, they had removed all visible traces of expired blood. I found out that the private blood bank was the ‘benami’ of the head of the department of general medicine, who was running the racket of expired blood. Therefore, he had destroyed all the evidence of his crime and got the sweepers to wipe it all clean.
……..Then I decided to join the police force
The second incident compelled me to switch my profession. It was the first time that I was going to vote in the parliamentary elections. A total of 15 of us from our joint family had gone to cast our votes at a booth in North Kolkata. My grandmother was not diplomatic and used to declare that she was a Congress supporter. Everyone in the locality knew about her anti-communist stance. As we awaited our turns in the queue, a person from our locality, known to be a Left Front supporter, came towards us. He was surrounded by some police personnel. He threatened us, asked us to go back, and told us that they would cast votes on our behalf. An argument followed. The police supported him, and we had to go back without casting our votes. I felt the police had become so political, and a politically biased police department can wreak havoc in a democratic system. We need unbiased and neutral police officers for democracy to survive. I decided to join the police force, work in an unbiased, neutral fashion, and change the corrupt system to give justice to people.
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Power of Words Over Violence
When I first came to Jammalamadugu in 2000, it was the hotbed of factionalism, and people were killing each other. I toured the villages and told them, “Fighting is useless. Live happily and grow up together. Eschew violence. Live and let live. That is how you survive.” Everyone responded to it, voluntarily surrendering their arms and ammunition, country-made bombs, and hunting sickles. By the time I left in early 2002, the place had undergone a metamorphosis, and even today, they remember me.
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Close Encounter with Tragedy at Lumbini Park
It was Saturday evening, August 25, 2007. I was posted as the first battalion commandant at that time. Along with my wife and daughters, I was at Lumbini Park to watch the laser show at 7 p.m. It was drizzling, and we reached late at 7:15 p.m. The place was filled with spectators, the lights were dimmed, but we found 10 vacant seats on a particular line. I wondered about it but occupied four of those seats, keeping the next six seats vacant. In about five minutes, there was a deafening blast—the infamous Lumbini Park blast that killed 12 people and injured many others. Later, I came to know that terrorists had occupied those 10 seats. Under the six unoccupied seats, they had planted the bombs, which were directional explosives. The bombs were pointed in all other directions except towards the side where we sat. The head of the person sitting 10 seats away from me was missing. Everyone in the nearby rows was dead. There was a stampede, and spectators started running away, fearing another blast. I stayed back, helped carry the injured to the hospitals, assisted with first aid, and managed to save many lives that horrifying night.
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Vizag’s AI-Driven Traffic Management
My connection with Vizag dates back to 2001 when I came to Visakhapatnam for about a week for my honeymoon—a beautiful place that has both seas and hills. At that time, Bheemili was a sleepy fishing village, while now it’s a bustling town with big buildings and resorts. The entire landscape of Vizag has changed with more urbanization and an increase in population. It is the only cosmopolitan city in the entire Andhra Pradesh with a considerable tourist and floating population. There is no threat from Maoist activities in the city. For Vizag city, focus is needed in areas like cybercrime, drugs and narcotics, and traffic management. However, within a few months, we are coming up with an innovative AI-driven traffic management system, which will have Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras and Face Recognition System (FRS) cameras installed at all traffic junctions and strategic locations. This will not only help check traffic violations, but FRS will also prevent crimes. Any criminal coming to the city from other states could be recognized and recorded, matched with the database of all criminals in the country, and an alert will be raised. We will be the first to implement this pathbreaking system and will be a role model for the country.
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Man behind the uniform
I like running long distances, participating in marathons, and trekking. I have trekked to Himalayan glaciers like Kafni and Pindari. When I have some leisure time, I read books, watch movies, and listen to music. I am planning to write books post-retirement. I also have a penchant for learning languages. Apart from English, Telugu, Bengali, and Hindi, I also know languages such as Assamese, Odia, Gujarati, and French.
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Call for Selfless Service
We have become too self-centered as a society. People are often unwilling to help others unless there are financial gains or personal interests involved. To make India great again, politicians and bureaucrats should serve selflessly, without vested interests or expectations of personal gain, and help the public who approach them with the hope of having their problems resolved. The police should be viewed as one large family that people in need can approach without hesitation. In fact, I have shared my phone number with everyone—both police personnel and the public—so they can call me anytime to address their concerns.
