The race for the new DGP position in Hyderabad is becoming more interesting with the sudden appearance of C V Anand, the former commissioner of police, at the L B Stadium. This happened a day before the swearing-in ceremony of A Revanth Reddy as the new Chief Minister of the State.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) recently reshuffled a total of 20 officials, including four returning officers and Hyderabad Commissioner of Police CV Anand. These officers were not given any new postings, and the reason for their transfer was their laxity in duties towards the preparation for the upcoming Assembly elections. Some officers were found to have performed unsatisfactorily and were deemed complacent or even complicit in various matters.
Given this context, the sudden presence of C V Anand at the stadium has raised questions. It is believed that the Chief Secretary asked him to be present to assist the government in making necessary arrangements for the swearing-in ceremony, as several VVIPs were expected to attend. Bureaucrats are wondering whether the DGP was consulted before this decision or not. They argue that it should have been the responsibility of Sandeep Shandilya, the commissioner of police at the time, to ensure proper law and order and traffic management.
C V Anand is a 1991 batch officer and is the only one from Telangana in the running for the DGP position. However, he still has about four more years until retirement. On the other hand, the current DGP Ravi Gupta has extensive experience in Information Technology and has made significant contributions in this field. He is due to retire in about a year. Other contenders for the position include Rajiv Rattan, the Managing Director of Telangana police housing corporation, and Dr Jitendar, the state Home Secretary.
According to UPSC rules, the state government usually sends the names of five senior IPS officers, and after shortlisting three, the committee sends the proposal back to the state government. The state government then picks the best candidate among the three as the DGP.
The buzz in bureaucratic circles is that the state government will likely choose Ravi Gupta as the DGP due to his seniority and previous work.
