DGP goes hammer and tongs against former rival

HYDERABAD: Director-general of police V Dinesh Reddy levelled serious charges against senior IPS officer Umesh Kumar, implying that the latter’s actions were tantamount to taking up cudgels against the government.Dinesh filed a lengthy counter-affidavit in the High Court in response to a petition moved against him by Umesh Kumar. The counter-affidavit contains various documents including a letter the DGP had written to the chief secretary, taking serious objection to the conduct of Umesh Kumar.Interestingly, the DGP also referred to certain comments made by the deputy speaker against Umesh Kumar in defence of his claim that the IPS officer was acting against conduct rules. Umesh Kumar’s petition sought a CBI probe into the allegation that he procured documents pertaining to the properties of Dinesh Reddy’s wife using the services of a former journalist, T Sunil Reddy. Umesh Kumar also made various other allegations against the DGP.In his letter (dated Sept.28) to the chief secretary, Dinesh Reddy, while denying all the allegations levelled by Umesh Kumar, said the officer going to court was ‘’shameless.’’ “In the recent past, he (Umesh) has sent about six reports to the government naming me in vague, abstract and baseless allegations and using most objectionable allegations against me notwithstanding the fact that I am the DGP of the state.’’ Dinesh Reddy stated that there were no grounds for Umesh Kumar to go to court against him, and on the contrary, there was reliable information that the latter harassed a cartel of suppliers who have been doing business with the DGP’s office for 20 years.‘’During his one year in charge of the DGP’s office stores, he has denied them their business,” the affidavit claims. ‘’He (Umesh) is creating all this nuisance and indulging in mudslinging only to come out of the crimes he committed and is trying to take advantage of the goodness of the government.Further, under the RTI, he is blackmailing the government as to what action the government has taken against me when there is no actionable act against me.’’ Interestingly, Dinesh Reddy, in his letter, also quoted a remark made by the deputy speaker in the presence of the home minister in the chief minister’s camp office: “Taking cudgels against the DGP appointed by the government in this manner tantamounts to taking cudgels against the government itself. As per Chanakya Rajaneethi, king has to be kind-hearted but kindness beyond a point is suicidal to the very king himself.’’   Lastly, Dinesh Reddy requested the chief secretary to take stringent disciplinary action against Umesh Kumar, failing which, Reddy said, the officer was likely to ‘’continue to commit crime after crime and nuisance after nuisance not only for me, but for the Government.’’ Interstingly, in his counter affidavit, Dinesh Reddy also attested the copy of a memo which states that a sub-committee was formed comprising the then commandant of the APSP first battalion, K Lakshmi Reddy and two others, to verify the huge stocks of shoes and uniforms in the central stores (Umesh Kumar had previously worked as additional DGP, Provisions and Logistics). Dinesh Reddy stated that the actions of certain officials concerned ‘’smacked of a scam.’’PROBE FINDINGSFrom the report of a sub-committee set up to verify stocks of shoes and uniforms n The variation in requirement and purchase of seven items (jungle shoes, drill boot black, working shoe brown, drill boot brown, sports white shoes, safari shoes, PT shoes brown) is not much but the item of working shoes black (eighth item), the variation is found.n The details are verified for the year 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11.The ground balance of 58,371 pairs of shoes is lying in the stores for more than one year without any utility and 323 pairs of these shoes are avaliable in stores from the year 20045 to 2008. The cost of the 58,371 pairs is calculated at Rs 4.31 crore (each pair is Rs 740). The documents from P&L are perused which contains the purchase orders for the year 2009-10.The requirement of working shoes black is 47,405 pairs whereas the purchase order was placed for 54,259 pairs in the first leg and additional quantity of 27,130 pairs was also purchased.