Two friends, same police batch: Karnataka loses second officer in two months

Arun Salunke, a police inspector with the Bengaluru city crime branch, died in the helicopter crash in Joshi math in Uttarakhand.

A helicopter crash in Uttarakhand on Friday claimed the life of Karnataka police inspector Arun Salunke, making him the second police officer from the State to die in an accident in another State within two months.

Among those killed in the crash with him were Pratap Gowda, Shankar Gowda, Sudheer K., and H.S. Natraja. They were together on Char Dham yatra pilgrimage.

Mr. Salunke was an inspector with the Special Inquiry Wing of the Bengaluru Central Crime Branch (CCB). The Police Department sources described him as a “no-nonsense” officer with a calm demeanor.

On August 28, Ravi K.B., a cybercrime investigator, died in a bus accident in Madhya Pradesh. Both Mr. Ravi and Mr. Salunke belonged to the same batch of police officers who joined the service in 2007. What makes the tragedy even more heartbreaking is that both were part of the same close-knit group of friends.

As news of the helicopter crash broke, the social media accounts of several police officers filled with prayers and messages hoping that the reports were not true. Minutes later, when the deaths were confirmed, the posts quickly changed to photographs of Mr. Ravi and Mr. Salunke together.

One picture, however, was common across several posts: a screenshot of Mr. Salunke’s heartfelt social media post on August 28, mourning the death of his friend Ravi.

Mr. Salunke hailed from Aratal village in Belagavi district but had settled in Bengaluru for nearly two decades. He is survived by his wife and two children. His father and brothers reside in Aratal.

Vasanth Kumar, inspector of the Mahadevapura police station, said Mr. Salunke was a gentleman. “About 10 of us from the 2007 batch of 365 officers were very close, including Salunke and Ravi. We have lost two of them, and for many of us, it is a personal loss,” he told The Hindu.

A senior officer who had worked with Mr. Salunke said that he was quick-thinking and had a knack for identifying connections and unearthing leads swiftly.

Mr. Salunke had led a team that busted a betting racket during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 earlier this year. He was also the complainant in a case in which an IAS officer from Andhra Pradesh allegedly assaulted and threatened police personnel during a late-night inspection earlier this month.

Family sources said Mr. Salunke had cleared a central services examination in 2007 and served in Delhi for some time. He later cleared the police recruitment examination and returned to Karnataka. He served in Bengaluru in various capacities and had also been posted in Tumakuru district. He had left for Uttarakhand on a trip with his friends last week.

Pratap Gowda hailed from Bachihalli in Sakleshpur. A contractor and businessman, he had been living in Bengaluru for several years. He is survived by his wife and two children. He was also inclined towards entering politics. According to his friends, he had recently joined the Congress and was interested in contesting the upcoming Zilla Panchayat elections from the Yeslur constituency in Sakleshpur taluk.