The recent transfer of over 25 IPS officers in just a day, especially in the north coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh, has raised many eyebrows in the bureaucratic and police circles.
The transfers are being looked sceptically by many officers, and it appears to authenticate the book written by senior IPS officer Vinoy Kumar Singh Is it police?
The book was earlier titled Dark side of police but the publication went into an indeterminate state as the government and many senior colleagues objected to the title and contents of the draft.
The book seriously criticises the functioning of the police, how politicians interfere in the decision-making and influence transfers and postings to suit their vested interests and how good officers are made redundant. The transfer of Commissioner of Police Amit Garg and the posting of T. Yoganand, DIG (Intelligence), appear to echo the views presented in the book and senior officers say that it was a politically influenced move.
But it appears that the calculations might go wrong, if the ‘political-influence buzzword’ is to be taken seriously, as the new Commissioner Yoganand, who is supposed to take over on May 23, enjoys the reputation of being a ‘no-nonsense’ cop with an upright and straight forward approach.
His posting could be counter-productive for many who wanted to see the back of Mr. Garg.
However, sources say that both Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and DGP J.V. Ramudu, who has a liking for Mr. Garg, had to bow to political pressures, but played the game right by posting another strict officer to take care of the city and keep it clean from fringe elements.
Mr. Yoganand, a 1998 batch officer, was till recently DIG (Intelligence) and he had been promoted as IGP to head the force in Visakhapatnam.
Land-grabbing
The major challenges for the new CP will be curbing land-grabbers who function under the patronage of politicians and in connivance with a few officers from departments such as Revenue, Stamps and Registration.
Cyber crime is another area that needs to be addressed as the city is ranked second in the country after Bengaluru.
Politicians requesting for transfer of officers who are not in their favour and asking for posting of officers of their choice, which includes caste lobbying, will be another challenge.
The growing menace of traffic and curtailing accidents, especially on the NH stretch that passes through the city, will be a thing that he will have to look into.
Shrewd political move to
post another
strict police
officer
