An officer during duty hours and an amateur artist at leisure. Meet Raveendran Sankaran, the designer of mascots for sports events hosted by the Bihar police.

The Bihar-cadre IPS officer posted at present as the deputy inspector-general of police (human rights and legal affairs) is not a professional designer. But he has already come up with mascots for two major events in the state.

On Tuesday, director-general of police Abhayanand inaugurated the mascot for the mega football tournament at Mithilesh Stadium at Phulwarisharif. It depicts a tiger playing with a football.

Sankaran said he had initially designed two mascots but the DGP selected this one. “It took me almost two weeks to give it the final shape,” he added.

Explaining the mascot, the senior officer also said: “I have designed the mascot keeping both Bihar and the nation in mind. Tiger is an animal of national importance. Bihar has a tiger reserve at Valmiki Nagar in West Champaran. It also connects with the government’s campaign to protect wildlife.”

He added that it would also help the state to promote tourism. “All sportspersons who will come to Bihar to participate in the event will also get to know about the Valmiki Nagar Tiger Reserve.”

Himself a sportsperson, Sankaran also serves as the organising secretary of the All India Football Championship. The Tamil Nadu-born officer said he had an interest in photography since childhood.