HYDERABAD: The day after gangster and renegade Naxalite Mohammed Nayeemuddin was killed in an encounter, his connections to a group of senior IPS officers (most of whom are now retired ) were hotly debated in police circles of the two Telugu states on Tuesday. In that light, retired IPS officer Shree Ram Tewari, who headed the Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB), made the startling disclosure to Express that Nayeem was indeed helping the SIB in anti-Naxal operations but it was all “professional” like in any other Intelligence operation.
Tewari, a 1982 batch IPS officer, who was one of the blue-eyed boys of then united and now divided AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, however dismissed speculation that he used Nayeem in some land deals. “I did meet him a couple of times but it was all for professional work and nothing beyond,” said Tewari.
This is perhaps the first time that a former SIB chief is going on record with such details.
In an exclusive interview with Express, Tewari opened up about his association with Nayeem during his tenure as SIB chief of then united AP at a time when Nayeem was known for executing killings of some Maoists reportedly on instructions of police officials.
Tewari said some officials in the police department were trying to malign him by circulating lies even as corridors of power are abuzz with speculation that a group of officers, including Tewari, were using Nayeem to grab land or settle land disputes.
“I personally meet Nayeem a couple of times when I was heading SIB and had long discussions with him about Naxalites. He was also in regular touch with my teams then. But it will not be proper on my part to reveal what exactly Nayeem shared with SIB and how he helped us as this would be highly unprofessional,” said Tewari, who was the then DIG of SIB. Interestingly, Tewari describes Nayeem as an “emotional type of fellow” who was determined to “do something” in life.
Tewari was posted as SIB chief in late 1996 and continued in the post till early 2000 and this was the time, sources said, when Nayeem had the complete backing of senior police officials, whose prime aim was to eliminate Naxals from the state.
“He was involved in the killing of KS Vyas (founder of anti-naxal force Greyhounds) after which he surrendered. I was not around when he surrendered. I only came in touch with him when I took over as SIB chief and he helped us in our operations. It was purely professional,” he said.
When asked to elaborate on the kind of help Nayeem provided to SIB, Tewari only chose to say that he shared information about Naxalites. “I can’t share anything beyond that. Also, the matter is now almost 20 years old and I have even forgotten most of it.”
Was Nayeem paid a lot of money? Tewari said he is not aware of such details though he did say that Nayeem was working with his team and they may have paid him, as is done in any such operations.
He said after Nayeem surrendered, he may have got some benefits from the government as per the surrender policy.