The Andhra Pradesh high court on Thursday virtually pulled up Director General of Police Gautam Sawang for not ensuring law and order in the state and for creating an atmosphere of panic in the villages of Amaravati.
A bench of the court comprising Chief Justice JK Maheshwari and Justice N Jayasurya, which summoned the DGP for a personal appearance, questioned him why the police had served a notice on leader of opposition and Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu under Section 151 of CrPC for taking him into preventive custody during the latter’s visit to Visakhapatnam.
The court also questioned the DGP as to why the police had imposed Section 144 in the villages of Amaravati and created an atmosphere of terror by taking up a long march through the streets of Amaravati.
“Is there any law and order in the state? Are we living in a state of democracy or not?” the judge asked.
The judge asked the DGP as to why he had not taken action against the police who failed to prevent thousands of YSR Congress party workers from storming the airport in Visakhapatnam and stopping the tour of Chandrababu Naidu.
It wondered why the police arrested Naidu, instead of arresting the people who gathered there.
The DGP said action could not be taken since the issue is pending in the court and assured to take action if the court gives any direction.
The bench pulled him up and said the court would give its own ruling and that would not prevent him from taking disciplinary action against the cops. He wondered whether the DGP would support the police for violating the law of the land.