VIJAYAWADA: Director General of Police D Goutam Sawang has sent legal notices to former chief minister and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu, his son and MLC Nara Lokesh, MP K Rammohan Naidu and other party leaders for making defamatory statements against him with respect to the seizure of drugs at Mundra port. A legal notice was also issued to a vernacular newspaper for publishing the said comments.
In the notices, the DGP sought an unconditional apology from the TDP leaders for their statements against him.The legal notices issued by Public Prosecutor K Srinivasa Reddy said that Naidu, his son Lokesh and the other TDP leaders “authored very uncharitable and per se defamatory statements against Steward of the Law enforcement Body for the state of AP and the same were published in the vernacular daily with a deliberate conspiracy to defame the State of AP including the office of the DGP.” The remarks pertain to the seizure of a large quantity of drugs at Mundra port in Gujarat and its alleged links to the State. Refuting the allegations as “baseless and defamatory”, the DGP said they were made even after the Commissioner of Police, Vijayawada, issued a press release clarifying the facts after consulting with the Central agencies investigating the drug haul.
The notice said that the imputations have left a scar and lowered the reputation of the DGP, who has an impeccable track record as the chief of Police Department and served both in national and international arena with accolades and distinction and has never acted with fear or favour in his career as an IPS officer.
The DGP sought unconditional apology from the TDP leaders for their remarks or else to proceed further as per law. The legal notices were also issued to TDP leaders D Narendra Kumar, Bonda Umamaheswara Rao, Budda Venkanna and Kommareddy Pattabhi Ram.