Hyderabad, OCtober 08: Shyam Sunder Prasad Yadav is no longer the Director General of Police (DGP) of AP.
In his first major decision as Chief Minister, Rosaiah on Wednesday gave the nod for a reshuffle of the police force at the top appointing RR Girish Kumar as the DGP in place of Yadav.
In the process, Yadav created a record –– This is the second time that he had to give up the post. On the first occasion, he was removed at the instance of the Election Commission on the ground he had praised the YS Rajasekhara Reddy government during elections when the code of conduct was in force.
Reddy brought him back soon after assuming office as chief minister for a second term in May. But, this time round, Yadav is unlikely to be lucky and appears to be out of the top post, once and for all.
Yadav will now head the AP State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) and is due to retire in September next year.
Along with Yadav, three other senior officers have also been moved out. Intelligence chief K Aravinda Rao, a close aide of Reddy for more than five years, has been shifted as head of the Anti-Corruption Bureau. Rao himself requested the government to transfer him in the wake of YSR’s death.
P Gautam Kumar, at present head of the AP Special Police Battalions, will be Principal Secretary ( H o m e ) . V Dinesh Reddy, till now heading the APSRTC, has been made Director General (Vigilance and Enforcement).
Mahender Reddy (IG, Intelligence) will be State Intelligence chief. Politically looking at it, the reshuffle is being seen as the first step taken by Rosaiah to assert himself as the chief minister by having people of his choice in important positions.
Having taken over as DGP in October, 2007, Yadav was mired in controversies throughout his tenure. But the last straw was the mannner in which he handled the disappearance of the chopper carrying YSR and its aftermath. Yadav’s infamous statement that ‘‘we cannot do anything once the chief minister is air-borne’’ and the way he riled at the media for blowing out of proportion ‘‘what was just a chopper crash’’ has apparently not gone down well with the Congress establishment.
Yadav did not wait for Girish Kumar who reached the DGP’s office almost immediately after the orders were issued. By then, Yadav had already handed over charge to a senior officer, Umesh Kumar, and left.
Speaking to newsmen, Girish Kumar said he was confident that his officers and men would stand by him to ensure that the police department performed its duty in a befitting manner. Meanwhile, Tuljanand Singh, former secretary, AP Assembly, is likely to be appointed as Rosaiah’s OSD.
–Agencies–