After YSRCP Complaint, EC Shifts 3 IPS Officers Including AP Intelligence Chief

Amaravati: The Central Election Commission took a significant decision which sent ripples across political and official circles in Andhra Pradesh. AP CEO Gopalakrishna Dwivedi told media persons on Tuesday that the Election commission has acted against three senior police officials in AP. They are Addl. DG Intelligence AB Venkateswara Rao, SP YSR district, Rahul Dev Sharma and SP Srikakulam, Venkataratnam.

Dwivedi informed the media that the EC has asked all three officers to keep away from election duties in 25 Lok Sabha and 175 assembly constituencies in the state. It has also directed them to report to the police headquarters.

It may be recalled that on Monday, a YSR Congress Party delegation led by Rajya Sabha member V Vijayasai Reddy met the full bench of the Central Election Commission and apprised the officials of the biased functioning of police officers in the state led by intelligence chief, AB Venkateswara Rao. Submitting details of the manner in which many senior police officials were helping the ruling Telugu Desam party and functioning as if they were party members, the YSRCP delegation requested the Election Commission to intervene in the matter to ensure free and fair elections in AP. Earlier, Leader of the Opposition in Andhra Pradesh Assembly, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had also met Election Commission officials in Delhi and lodged a complaint with them in this matter.

It is learnt that the Election Commission took the decision to crack the whip on these senior police officials, in view of complaints of phone tapping of opposition leaders and blatant abuse of authority.

There has been widespread criticism against intelligence chief AB Venkateswara Rao that he had been driving Chandrababu Naidu‘s agenda in his official capacity from the day he took charge. After TDP supremo Chandrababu Naidu was caught red-handed in the note for vote case, Additional DG of AP intelligence, AR Anuradha was shifted overnight. She was made Principal Secretary (Home) and AB Venkateswara Rao, who was the Commissioner of Vijayawada, at that time, was appointed in her place.

There have been complaints against AB Venkateswara Rao that he has been using machinery meant for keeping a tab on Maoists, extremists and anti-social elements, to tap phones of opposition leaders. There was widespread criticism against the Intelligence Chief of AP government that he was instrumental in driving the negotiations to attract 23 YSRCP MLAs into the TDP fold in brazen violation of democratic norms and abuse of authority.

Opposition leaders have also pointed fingers at him saying that he had created a state wide network under the State Intelligence department to help the TDP. AB Venkateswara Rao was also criticised for promoting casteism in a big way and is reported to have brought in retired police officers like Yoganand and Madhava Rao as OSDs to further this agenda. The role of AB Venkateswara Rao had become a point of discussion in political circles following which the Election Commission is learnt to have cracked the whip on him.

The Election Commission also shifted IPS officer and SP of YSR district Rahul Dev Sharma in view of the failure of the police to make any progress in the murder case of former MP and minister, former chief minister Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy‘s brother, YS Vivekananda Reddy. It may be recalled that YSR Congress Party President YS Jagan Mohan Reddy‘s uncle YS Vivekananda Reddy had been playing the role of a party elder in YSR district and had been working actively for the party. After his brutal murder, police authorities tried to side-track the investigation without looking at the conspiracy angle in the case. There were attempts to blame members of the slain leader’s family, reportedly due to the pressure by the intelligence chief and higher ups in the government. YS Jagan pointed out that even while he was with the SP of the district, the AP Intelligence chief AB Venkateswara Rao, had been calling the police official continuously which he himself noted.

In the case of the SP of Srikakulam Venkataratnam, there has been criticism for some time that he has been functioning to further the ruling party’s interest in his official capacity. The Election Commission acted on specific complaints to this effect. Some days ago Rs.5 crores were found during the course of searches in a car belonging to TDP candidate, Kondru Murali. It is learnt that the election commission had acted on a complaint against the SP‘s decision to let off the culprits at the behest of the DG Intelligence, among many other factors .

In the light of the election commission taking a serious view of the functioning of police officials in the state and acting on three of them, DGP of the state RP Thakur convened an emergency meeting on Tuesday night, media reports said.

Also Read: Vijayasai Reddy Exposes TDPs Violaton Of Code Of Conduct