Hyderabad, April 30: Was the amount of about Rs 65 lakh due to the two Supreme Court advocates who defended the then DGP RR Girish Kumar before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) paid from the Secret Reserve (SR) funds of the Andhra Pradesh police?
If sources are to be believed, the amount was indeed paid from the SR funds and the top brass of the state police and the General Administration Department (GAD) have locked horns over the issue with the latter reportedly refusing to ”reimburse” the amount to the state police.
Informed sources disclosed to Express that the amount of Rs 65 lakh was paid to the two Supreme Court advocates, PP Rao and VR Reddy, engaged by the state government to defend Girish Kumar, whose appointment was set aside by the CAT back in January 2010.
Though the government headed by K Rosaiah could not save Girish Kumar from CAT, which set aside his appointment as DGP, the money had to be paid to the advocates immediately.
As a ‘temporary arrangement’, the advocates were paid from the SR funds on the instructions of the powers-that-be.
Since then, Girish Kumar, till his retirement from service in August last year, had pursued the matter with the government and also put up a file in this regard.
It is learnt that he was pressing the GAD to reimburse the amount back to the department and that the reported handing over of money from the SR fund was just a ”temporary arrangement.”
A series of meetings and letters from Girish Kumar followed, but to no avail.
It is being alleged that the vouchers were drawn in some other names as they could not have mentioned the names of the advocates against the money paid from the SR amount.
The GAD refused to entertain the matter and returned the file to Girish Kumar without even making an entry in their records.
”We have got nothing to do with this,” they reportedly told Girish Kumar.
Though Girish Kumar retired in August but the matter was pursued. The present DGP K Aravinda Rao then took up the matter with the government. Yet, the GAD is understood to have kept the matter in abeyance.
”The amount is huge and the GAD cannot reimburse the money just like that. Even otherwise, diverting money from the SR funds for such purposes is a serious matter,” an official remarked.
On an average every year, the government earmarks at least Rs 3 crore (which is generally given in four instalments) to the state police towards the SR funds, to be used to pay informants against Naxalites, terrorists and other criminals.
Besides, the DGP can also use the money for giving incentives or rewards for the good work done by the policemen.
Each unit, especially the Special Intelligence Branch and Counter Intelligence Cell besides the district police, spend huge amounts to gather information and no check on amount spent.
–Agencies