 "Denied extension, Andhra's ex-police chief slams CM")
Former Andhra Pradesh police chief V. Dinesh Reddy Tuesday levelled serious allegations against Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, saying he did not want the formation of a Telangana state.
The former director general of police told reporters here the chief minister did not extend his term in office as part of a conspiracy to shield his brother Santosh Reddy allegedly involved in land grabbing.
The former police chief made these sensational allegations a day after the Supreme Court rejected Dinesh Reddy's petition for extending his term by an year.
He claimed the chief minister brought pressure on him to say that if Telangana was created, the Maoist problem would resurface.
"As a conscientious officer I refused to say this," said Dinesh Reddy, who hails from Nellore district of coastal Andhra.
Dinesh Reddy said the chief minister also brought pressure on him to allow a meeting of employees of Seemandhra (Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra) in Hyderabad. He claimed that Kiran Reddy also questioned his decision to seek central paramilitary forces before the announcement on carving Telangana out of Andhra Pradesh.
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"I want to tell people how safe we are in the state when for the chief minister his personal agenda is more important than the law and order and public interest," he said, alleging that the chief minister humiliated him by abruptly ending his term after promising extension.
Dinesh Reddy retired as the state police chief Sep 30 after attaining the age of superannuation as both the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) and the state high court dismissed his petition seeking directions to the government to extend his term.
Last month, the Supreme Court ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into Dinesh Reddy's alleged illegal assets, following a petition moved by another Indian Police Service officer, Umesh Kumar.
After Dinesh Reddy's allegations, leaders of the Congress party from Telangana and other parties urged the central government to sack the chief minister and order a CBI probe against him and his brother.
Former minister and Congress legislator P. Shankar Rao called for a thorough probe into what he called the chief minister's scams. Shankar Rao wanted to know if Dinesh Reddy got him arrested in a land case at the chief minister's instance.
Telangana Rashtra Samithi leader K. Taraka Rama Rao said Dinesh Reddy's allegations proved that Kiran Reddy was acting as a leader of Seemandhra. He asked the central government to immediately sack him.