VIJAYAWADA: Senior IPS officer and former intelligence chief AB Venkateswara Rao has termed the communication from the Union Home Ministry to the State Chief Secretary confirming his suspension and directing the latter to issue a chargesheet to him as part of a routine administrative process. In a release, the DG rank officer, while urging his well-wishers and relatives, not to be anxious, clarified that if a state government suspends an All India Services officer, it is mandatory for it to submit a report to the Centre. The Centre may nor may not ratify such a report.
Even if it doesn’t, the suspension may not be lifted but the State government must issue a chargesheet to the suspended officer within 30 days of the suspension. Else, the suspension will automatically be cancelled, his statement said. “If the Centre ratifies the report, the State government may get an additional 30 days to issue the chargesheet. This is what has happened now,” he explained.
ABV sent a representation to the Centre on March 27 urging it not to ratify his suspension. Expressing surprise that the Centre’s letter was issued on a holiday, he said there was nothing new as far as the substance of the missive was concerned. “It does not mean the Centre is convinced of the allegations against me. It is a lie to claim the contrary. Truth will not come out without a proper probe. The letter only means one thing that the Centre has given the State government time till April 7 to issue me a chargesheet,” he said. He also expressed disappointment that the Centre announced its decision without even referring to his representation.
It may be noted that ABV has been accused by the State government of committing irregularities in the procurement of Aerostat and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle at the cost of Rs 25.50 crore under the Modernisation of Police Forces Scheme in 2017-18. In his representation to the Centre, ABV reportedly informed that the procurement process was aborted and no money had exchanged hands and hence, no loss was caused to the government. It appears he had also said in his defence that he was neither on the Purchase Committee nor the Technical Committee both of which were constituted by the then DGP RP Thakur.
Similarly, he reportedly denied that the company headed by his son participated in the tender process on behalf of RT Inflatables based in Israel. Further, it is learnt that he complained that he has been made a victim of political vendetta as he was perceived to be close to the erstwhile TDP government.
Treason or misconduct?
Did ABV as alleged compromise intelligence protocols and procedures of police to a foreign defence manufacturing firm? Initially, when he was suspended, official sources claimed there was prima facie evidence indicating he had committed irregularities and accused him of conscious and premeditated act of treason. However, in a letter to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the State government last month detailed several irregularities committed by ABV in the aborted procurement of Aerostat and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) but appears to have stopped short of accusing him of treason. It is learnt that the missive from the State government cited the participation of M/s Akasam Advanced Systems Pvt Ltd on behalf of RT Inflatables in the procurement process and informed that the said company’s CEO is none other than the officer’s son. It reportedly submitted to the Centre that ABV failed to inform the State government Akasam Advanced Systems was dealing on behalf of the Israeli company. Besides this, the letter to the Centre, it is learnt, listed several other irregularities allegedly committed by ABV such as failure to engage a consultant or expert, flouting the mandatory requirement of preparing EoI, scaling down warranty period and technical specifications of Aerostat and UAV, and modifying payment conditions etc. The case has since been handed over to the anti-corruption bureau to conduct a detailed enquiry and submit a report.