Telugu Desam Party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday ordered a comprehensive probe into the alleged acts of omission and commission by former Information and Public Relations Commissioner Tumma Vijay Kumar Reddy.
According to official sources, Naidu asked chief secretary Neerabh Kumar Prasad to issue orders for a thorough investigation by Vigilance and Enforcement Department into the decisions taken by Vijay Kumar Reddy during his tenure as I&PR commissioner in the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government.
The 1990-batch Indian Information Service officer came to Andhra Pradesh on deputation on June 11, 2019, days after Jagan came to power in the state.
He was accused of indulging in quid pro quo deals with various agencies, besides granting undue favours to Sakshi media group.
The chief minister reportedly obtained a preliminary report that during the regime of Jagan, the I&PR department had given advertisements to the tune of more than Rs 400 crore to Sakshi media house, owned by the YSRCP president.
Apart from Sakshi, Reddy faced allegations of largescale corruption during his tenure in release of advertisements to various print, electronic, digital and social media in the last five years.
After Jagan lost power to the NDA, Vijay Kumar Reddy desperately tried to get back to his parent department.
Finally, he managed to get repatriated to the Union Information and Broadcasting department and was posted as Director General (Media and Communication) in the Press Information Bureau, Kolkata with immediate effect and until further orders.
In fact, the General Administration Department of the Andhra Pradesh government initially refused to relieve him till now, pending inquiry against him for acts of omission and commission during his tenure in the last five years. But he somehow used his good offices of his Delhi bosses and got the repatriation.
Yet, Naidu directed a detailed probe into the allegations against Vijay Kumar Reddy, sources said.