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ABV suspension extended by four months!

ABV suspension extended by four months!

In yet another shock to senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer and former intelligence chief of Andhra Pradesh A B Venkateshwara Rao, the Andhra Pradesh government on Tuesday extended the period of his suspension by another four months.

An order to this effect (GO Rt No. 663) was issued by chief secretary Neelam Sawhney late in the evening. Rao would be under suspension till August 5 or till further orders whichever is earlier.

The decision was taken following the recommendation of the review committee constituted by the government in the wake of the recommendation made by Anti-Corruption Bureau stating that the suspension period of Rao be extended for a further period, pending investigation.

The 1989-batch IPS officer of the Director General of Police rank was suspended by the state government on February 8, on disciplinary grounds.

An official note then said a departmental inquiry against Rao had revealed that he had colluded with an Israeli defence equipment manufacturing firm RT Inflatables Pvt Ltd to illegally award critical Intelligence and surveillance contract to his son Chetan Sai Krishna, who is CEO of Akasam Advanced Systems Pvt Ltd.

The inquiry further revealed that Rao had wilfully disclosed intelligence protocols and procedures of police to the foreign Defence manufacturing firm, which was a direct threat to national security as intelligence protocols are standard throughout the Indian Police Force.

On March 8, his suspension was endorsed by the Union Home Ministry which asked the government to file a charge sheet by April 7. Sine the deadline has expired on Tuesday and the charges were yet to be framed, the government extended the suspension pending investigation.

On March 17, the Central Administrative Tribunal too endorsed his suspension by the YSR Congress party government alleged irregularities in procurement of security equipment during the previous Telugu Desam Party regime.

The CAT dismissed the petition of Venkateshwara Rao challenging his suspension by the Jagan Mohan Reddy government last month.

Apparently, the CAT felt that there are prima facie evidences with the investigating officials in suspending him and ordered that the investigation would have to be conducted to probe the charges.

Venkateshwara Rao, in his petition in the CAT, alleged that the suspension was politically motivated and was illegal and arbitrary.

He claimed that there was not a single charge against him in his three decades of service and he had received several awards.

He said he had not been given any posting after he was shifted out of his post on May 30, when the new government took charge in the state. He had been attached to the headquarters without even being paid his salary for the last eight months.

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