Mysore/Mysuru: K.L. Sooraj of Mysuru and R. Dhananjaya of Mandya have bagged ranks in the UPSC Civil Services Exam, the result of which was announced by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) yesterday.

A native of Virajpet in Kodagu, Sooraj is the son of K.B. Lingaraj, retired Assistant Commissioner in Customs Department, GST Division and a resident of Siddarthanagar in city while Dhananjaya is the son of Ramachandra and Mangalamma, farmer couple of Karadahalli in Nagamangala taluk of Mandya.

While Sooraj bagged 525th rank, Dhananjaya secured 554th rank, in the All India Rankings.

This is the second time that 29-year-old Sooraj has cleared the UPSC Civil Services Exam. Sooraj, who was selected to the IPS (Indian Police Service) Karnataka Cadre last time after securing 713th rank, is currently undergoing training at National Police Academy (NPA) in Hyderabad. This time, he has bettered his All India Ranking by securing the 525th rank.

Sooraj, an alumnus of the city’s JSS School, studied Computer Science Engineering at SJCE.

Sooraj said that now he has bettered his rankings, he would be happy to get selected for IAS (Indian Administrative Service). If not, he would continue in IPS as he has got Karnataka Cadre for service. “I had passed IPS in my third attempt with 713th ranking. Now my ranking has improved in fourth attempt. I had prepared for this year’s UPSC exam after taking a 10-month leave. I had chosen Anthropology as my Optional subject. Apart from self-studies, I had taken online lessons from a Delhi-based coaching App & also used AI in preparations,” he said.

Speaking to media, 554th rank holder Dhananjaya  said, he had toiled hard for clearing UPSC Civil Services Exam for 7 years. Noting that he had been attempting UPSC Civil Services Exam since 2019, he said he was happy that he ultimately achieved his goal after 7 long years. Pointing out that his parents were from a peasant family, he said, he was inspired by late Karnataka IAS Officer D.K. Ravi & Haryana-based IAS Officer Ashok Khemka. “I have an ambition to serve the nation to the best of my capability,” he added.