A keen sportsman, M.V. Rao enjoys a game of tennis. Picture by Hardeep Singh

Senior superintendent of police M.V. Rao has always inspired awe and admiration among the residents of the capital. His name is synonymous with a tough no-nonsense policeman. But a tête-à-tête with the super cop reveals a warm person who is a loving husband and a doting father to his two children.

The youngest among three brothers and two sisters, Rao was born in a remote village of Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh in 1961. “Life was not a cakewalk for me. Our village had no schools. I attended a government school in a nearby village till Class X, which had no good teachers to guide us.”

For his intermediate, Rao joined a college in Nagram village in Guntur. Rao says he joined the police service by sheer chance. After passing out of the Regional Engineering College, Warangal, he joined National Thermal Power Corporation in Farakka. It was then that he decided on the spur of the moment that he would appear for the UPSC examination. “I did not prepare for the examination. When I cleared the exam, I realised that this was what I was destined to do.” After two years of training in Jehanabad and the National Police Academy, his first posting was at Bhagalpur in 1989, the same year when the riots broke out in the Bihar town. “It proved to be a turning point in my life. I remember patrolling the town with my colleagues and assuring hapless people that the situation was under control.”

In 1992, Rao was posted as the superintendent of the newly-constituted Buxur district. Rao had his hands full dealing with the teething problems of the district. Within a few days of his arrival, riots broke out in Sitamarhi and Rao was asked to control the situation. “During my stay in Buxar, special courts were set up where the people accused of engineering the riots went on trial. Several among them were sentenced to life imprisonment.”

Rao rues that his job leaves him with no time for leisure. “Policemen have no holidays. Duty tops our list of priority. Left to myself I would love to go to office on Sundays without shaving. I find shaving every day extremely tedious.”

However, Rao’s family is not complaining. His wife, Bhavani,is a quintessential homemaker. Though a postgraduate in mass communication, Bhavani is content looking after her husband and children. According to Bhavani, her husband has always maintained a fine balance between work and family. Despite his busy schedule he makes it a point to have dinner with his family. “My husband is a sensitive man. When we were posted in Bhagalpur, there were no servants as my husband had just joined the service. Our son was eight-months-old and I was expecting again. So, my husband and I took turns looking after our son. He also used to lend me a helping hand in household chores.”

“My wife is the best thing that happened to me. Her moral support helped me achieve higher goals in life. Fortunately, I never had to worry about the home front. My wife looks after everything including my children’s studies,” says Rao.

Rao can spend hours talking about his children “Both my children study in DAV Shyamali. While my son studies in Class X, my daughter is in Class VIII. I think the birth of my son made me a more humane person.”

On the rare occasions when he stays at home on Sundays, Rao chills out by reading books and the Sunday supplements. There is also the occasional socialising with colleagues and close friends. “Rao is a homebody. Left to himself he would spend his off days lazing in the house. My children complain that we rarely go on a holiday. The only place we went for a holiday was Shimla and that too nine years ago,” says Bhavani.

A vegetarian, Rao prefers dishes that are non-oily. “My children love to eat outside so I often take them to the Gymkhana Club, Yuvraj Palace, Hotel Arya and Seventh Heaven,” says Rao.

The tough cop loves the countryside. “Whenever I am free I pack my bags and head for the country side. The best years of my life were those that were spent in Gumla. The scenic beauty and charm of the countryside bowled me over.” A self-confessed movie buff, Rao loves watching old classics like The Day of the Jackal. He is also a voracious reader. “Previously I used to read Alistair Maclean novels and science fiction. But now I’ve graduated to more serious stuff like books written by President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. ”

A man of many parts, Rao is a good sportsman. “My wife and children often join me in a game of tennis. Since there are four members in my family we can easily form a double’s team.”

Looking back on his career spanning 15 years, Rao says he simply did his duty. “From one posting to another, I have grown over the years. I was destined to take up challenges and today I have a sense of fulfilment,” says the cop who regrets nothing in life.

The most fulfilling moment in life came when his daughter expressed a desire to donate blankets to the poor from the money she had earned through the sale of her paintings. “We distributed the blankets to people who live on the streets. I felt proud and overwhelmed at the same time.”