Ex-TN DGP Braj Kishore Ravi joins Congress

Former Tamil Nadu director general of police (DGP) (Vigilance) Braj Kishore Ravi on Thursday joined the Congress in the presence of party MPs Akhilesh Prasad Singh and Naseer Hussain in New Delhi.

Ravi said he will focus on fighting on behalf of his party from Bihar, his home state, but is also open to campaigning in Tamil Nadu. Ravi was due to retire by the year-end but announced his retirement three months before, on September 30.

Ravi hails from a Congress family in Bihar. His father, Tul Mohan Ram, was a freedom fighter and a three-term Lok Sabha member.

The 1989 batch IPS officer hails from Saharsa district in Bihar and is the second seniormost DGP ranking official from the TN cadre.

He had worked with the United Nations peacekeeping force and also headed the TN Fire and Rescue Services until recently.

Ravi has also been involved in monitoring malpractices and corruption in Tamil Nadu.

Ravi is the recipient of the United National Medal in 1998, and the Foreign Services Medal in 1999.

He has actively been involved in the pursuit of social justice and human rights, both in official capacities and through personal initiatives, a statement from the Congress said.

Sharing the ideology and principles of the Congress, with a focus on the empowerment of underprivileged sections of society, he chose to voluntarily retire from his esteemed position on September 30, embarking on a new journey with the party, it said.