Telangana: EC transfers Vikarabad SP over Congress leader Reddy’s arrest 

The Election Commission on Wednesday, December 5, ordered the removal of Superintendent of Police of T. Annapurna in Telangana's, Vikarabad district over the preventive custody of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee working President A Revanth Reddy as the police observer found his detention "unwarranted".

An official communication issued by Telangana Chief Electoral Officer Rajath Kumar in Hyderabad said, "The Election Commission of India has ordered the transfer of Smt T Annapurna, IPS, SP Vikarabad, immediately and posted Sri Avinash Mohanthy IPS ( RR 2005) in place of her with immediate effect." It is also directed that Annapurna's services are not utilised for election purpose, the order said.

“The commission has also directed that Annapurna be attached to the police headquarters” said an EC functionary. The action comes a day after Revanth Reddy, also a Congress candidate from Kodangal constituency, was arrested in a raid on his house past midnight. in New Delhi.

In the early hours of Tuesday, the Vikarabad police had taken Reddy into preventive custody citing law and order issues.

Reddy had given a Kodangal bandh call and asked the party workers to stage protests across the constituency against the visit of the caretaker Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao at Kosgi in Kodangal constituency.

Reddy was released after 12 hours only after TRS chief’s meeting and the rally in the assembly segment got over.

The Hyderabad High Court had faulted the Telangana Police for the manner in which Revanth was arrested and wondered if the state had become a banana republic.

The court on Tuesday december 4, summoned the Advocate General to produce the evidence based on which the police acted against Revanth.

The High Court heard the Habeas Corpus petition filed by a Congress leader for a second consecutive day on Wednesday, December 5. A division bench of Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan and Justice M. Satyanarayana Murthy summoned Director General of Police (DGP) Mahender Reddy and asked him to show the grounds on which the police arrested Reddy and ascertain at which level the decision to arrest the Congress leader was taken.

A lawyer of the petitioner told reporters that the court was not satisfied with the explanation and records provided by the DGP. It raised doubts on the veracity of a document from the intelligence department.

The court directed the DGP to file an affidavit and adjourned the hearing to December 17.

Condemning the police action, Congress president Rahul Gandhi had said the Telangana Rashtra Samithi government resorted to it "due to fear of defeat."

Telangana goes to polls on December 7