Ravada Chandrasekhar

Some Lesser Known Facts About Ravada Chandrasekhar

• He started his police job in Kerala as ASP in Thalassery.

• He later served as SP in Wayanad, Malappuram, Ernakulam Rural, and Palakkad.

• He held various top posts, including DIG of the Thrissur and Kochi ranges, and Commissioner of Police in Thiruvananthapuram.

  

• On 25 November 1994, two days after being moved from Hyderabad, Chandrasekhar was posted as Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) in Kerala.

• Soon after taking charge, he led a police operation that turned into one of the worst cases of political violence in Kerala’s history.

• The incident happened near Thalassery Road in Kannur, where thousands of DYFI activists blocked the convoy of Minister M. V. Raghavan.

• They were protesting against the self-financing education policy of the United Democratic Front (UDF) government.

• Raghavan, also known as MVR, was once a top leader of the CPM but later left the party.

• Police first tried to control the crowd using tear gas and a lathi-charge, but it did not work.

• Then the police opened fire on orders from the Executive Magistrate and the DIG.

  

• The first round of firing happened near the Koothuparamba Town Hall, and the second round took place near the police station.

• Five DYFI activists named KK Rajeevan, KV Roshan, Madhu, Shibulal, and Babu were killed. Six others were injured, and one of them, Pushpan, got paralysed and remained bedridden until he died in 2024.

  

• In 1997, a judicial inquiry said that the police firing was not justified and called it excessive.

• A magistrate court later charged Ravada A Chandrasekhar and five others with murder, attempted murder, and conspiracy.

• Since 2008, he has been working with the central government.

• In 2012, the Kerala High Court cancelled all charges as the government did not permit prosecution.

• It was announced that he would become Secretary (Security) in the Cabinet Secretariat in August 2025.

• In June 2025, Ravada A Chandrasekhar was appointed as the 41st DGP of Kerala, which gave him a one-year extension.

• This follows the Supreme Court’s rule that a state police chief must serve at least two years.