HYDERABAD: Former minister and ex-director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Vijaya Rama Rao, passed away after battling an illness in a private hospital in Hyderabad on Monday evening. He was admitted to a hospital in Jubilee Hills after having a brain stroke. Doctors said he died at 7 pm. His last rites would be performed at Mahaprasthanam in Hyderabad on Wednesday. He was 85.
Vijaya Rama Rao joined as an IPS trainee in 1959. Later, he was appointed the Commissioner of Police in Hyderabad. As CBI director, he investigated cases like the hawala scam, the demolition of Babri Masjid and the Mumbai bomb blasts.
In 1999, he entered into politics by joining the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and got elected as an MLA from the Khairatabad Assembly segment in Hyderabad defeating senior Congress leader P Janardhan Reddy. He also worked as a minister in the cabinet of the then Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh N Chandrababu Naidu.
Vijaya Rama Rao was born in Eturunagaram, located in the Warangal district. He completed his schooling in Venkatagiri, which is situated in the Nellore district. Later, he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Madras University. In 1958, he joined SRR College as a lecturer, and subsequently, he was selected for Civil services.
Full State honours
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao expressed shock over the passing of Vijaya Rama Rao and extended his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family. He directed Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari to make arrangements for the former minister’s final rites to be conducted with full State honours.