The AP government on Tuesday issued orders extending the suspension of senior IPS officer A B Venkateswara Rao.
The suspension was extended for six months from August 6, 2020.
The IPS officer, who played key role in the Chandrababu Naidu’s regime during the last five years, was placed under suspension under Rule 3(1) of All India Service (Discipline and Appeals) Rules 1969 on February 8, 2020.
The suspension was ratified by the Central government on March 7, 2020.
The ACB had probed the allegations against Venkateswara Rao and submitted interim reports on March 30 and April 3, 2020.
He was suspended on the grounds of serious misconduct in process of procurement of security equipment, while he was working as additional director general of police (Intelligence).
The charges were framed against Venkateswara Rao on December 18, 2020 and the same were communicated to him.
However, in the recent past, Venkateswara Rao wrote a letter to the IPS officers association seeking its intervention. He also expressed fear that the government was planning to arrest him on these charges.
Though the association refused to interfere with the case, the senior IPS officer had gone to the high court and secured a stay order preventing his arrest.
On Tuesday, the state government issued orders extending his suspension for six months from August 6, 2020.
