It's time for yet another legal battle for senior IPS officer and former Andhra Pradesh intelligence chief A B Venkateshwar Rao, who was suspended by the Jagan Mohan Reddy government recently for a second time.
Venkateshwar Rao has moved the state high court seeking to quash the case filed by Andhra anti-corruption bureau (ACB) against him in 2021 suspecting corruption in the purchase of security equipment during his regime as intelligence chief.
In his petition, Venkateshwar Rao submitted that not a single rupee was spent on the purchase of any equipment and not a single paisa was paid to anybody. The ACB had foisted false against him by making general inquiry, without going through the process of an investigation by the AP Vigilance Commission.
He requested that the false case against him be dismissed. He also wanted that all the actions to be taken on the basis of the FIR filed by the ACB be suspended till the case is disposed of by the court.
Moreover, Venkateshwar Rao argued that, he had absolutely no role to play in the government in purchase of any security equipment as there is a separate committee for the same.
"In fact, State Trade Corporation of India Ltd had returned Rs 10 lakh to the government, which had paid the money towards transaction fee," the IPS officer pointed out.
Last week, Venkateshwar Rao was suspended within 10 days of being given posting as commissioner of printing and stationery.
He said though the case was registered a year and half ago, no chargesheet was filed till date. He wondered how he could influence or threaten the witnesses when the chargesheet was not filed and the hearing did not begin in the court at all.
The IPS officer sought to know how the government could suspend him under the same sections which were struck down by the high court.