Andhra Pradesh Battle of Khaki gets down and dirty

Bureaucracy in Andhra Pradesh has been shaken up by the bitter public war between senior IPS officer Umesh Kumar and Director General of Police V Dinesh Reddy. With Kumar going into hiding after the Nampally Criminal Court issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against him for failing to appear before it in the case related to the forgery of an MP’s signature, it has caused much embarrassment to the state machinery.

It has been alleged that a former journalist T Sunil Reddy at the behest of Kumar forged the signature of an MP and sent a letter against Reddy to the Ministry of Home Affairs

A day after Crime Investigation Department (CID) personnel found Kumar missing from his residence in Jubilee Hills on Thursday, the senior IPS officer approached the High Court with a request for recall of the non-bailable warrant (NBW) issued against him. The matter is expected to come up for hearing before the High Court on Monday.

Kumar, in his petition, complained at the prejudicial manner in which the matter was being dealt with by the CMM court. He said he had appeared in the court on the magistrate’s insistence on April 18, and filed an application seeking exemption from personal appearance. This application was also rejected improperly, he said. There could be far-reaching consequences and irreparable loss if he was sent to jail, Kumar said. All offences alleged against him were bailable and it was a summons case. The magistrate concerned had been acting ‘differently’ in this case, he alleged.

Besides seeking recall of the NBW, Kumar also wanted the High Court to stay all further proceedings in the case being dealt with by the CMM court. Meanwhile, Kumar continues to be incommunicado. His mobile phone remains switched off and he is not available at his residence which he had left in a hurry. It is learnt that Kumar had even left behind his security personnel. CID men questioned Kumar’s driver and security personnel. “They are giving us contradictory versions,’’ an official said.

In another development bringing some relief to the senior officer, the special court for CBI cases on Thursday dismissed a private complaint filed against Kumar. The complainant, A Pavan Kumar, had sought a CBI enquiry into alleged irregularities in purchases made by Umesh Kumar during his tenure as additional director general of police (provisions and logistics).

Kumar is currently the chairman of the Godavari Valley Development Authority (GVDA). Umesh Kumar and Dinesh Reddy belong to the 1977 batch and both have been engaged in a legal battle. Umesh is senior to Dinesh in the batch. He alleged that the DGP and his wife held disproportionate assets. While, Dinesh Reddy complained to the chief secretary, levelling several allegations against the former, which included claiming a gallantry award on the basis of fake documents, selling bullet-proof jackets to naxalites and indulging in graft in the purchase of shoes and uniforms for police personnel. Eralier a Andhra Pradesh High Court judge had commented that the allegations and counter allegations by the two officers have not only tarnished their own images, but also that of the entire police force in the state.