by Richie Lasrado, Resident Editor, Daijiworld.com
Mangalore, Jan 8: Retired deputy superintendent of police Kenya Ramayya Rai (94) passed away at his daughter's house in Kottara here on Sunday, January 7, following a brief illness.
An upright police officer, Rai had his science graduation in Presidency College, Madras (now Chennai) and joined the Madras police service as sub inspector in 1939. He served in the erstwhile Madras Presidency at various places like the then Malabar, South Kanara, Madras city, CBI, New Delhi and Madras CID.
During his stint in South Kanara, besides solving many crime mysteries, he had earned high accolades for cracking the notorious 'Pereis' case in and around Bajpe in the early 1950's and won special appreciation from the government and courts. His committed pursuit of the case culminated in life imprisonment for Pereis, a shady character said to have had his roots in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), but had settled near Bajpe after marrying a local woman.
His narrative of the sensational case was published in a book form titled "Tell-tale Teeth", based on the identification of the murdered person as of Pereis' own associate on the basis of the filling of the dental cavity.
The story was translated into Kannada and serialized in 'Taranga' weekly. It was also translated by CGS Taccode into Konkani and serialized in 'Raknno' weekly some years ago. 'My Days in Police', based on his service memoirs, was another popular book of his.
After retirement, Rai had settled down in his native village Mupperya near Bellare in Sullia taluk of the district. He founded the Laxmi Ram Trust in memory of his late wife for educational benefits to poor and deserving children.
A few years ago, he was felicitated on the lawns of Hotel Woodlands in the city, in the presence of IGP Satyanarayana Rao and sessions judge Indrakala. This writer had found his memory power impeccable despite being a nonagenarian while having met him for an interview on the occasion. He could recall minute bits of his service experience so accurately.