The Andhra Pradesh government on Saturday downgraded the Vijayawada city police commissioner's post to the rank of Inspector General of Police and moved out the incumbent Director General of Police-rank official Ch Dwaraka Tirumala Rao in a reshuffle of IPS officers.
B Srinivasulu, who is currently the Additional CP, has been elevated as the Commissioner of Police, Vijayawada.
First, an Additional DGP-rank officer and later a DGP-rank officer were posted as the Commissioner of Police, Vijayawada, that was part of the state capital region Amaravati.
Though there was a plan to expand the Vijayawada Police Commissionerate to include the new capital city Amaravati, it did not move ahead in the last five years, official sources said, following which the decision was taken.
Now that the YSRCP government decided to make Visakhapatnam the executive capital of the state, the Vijayawada Police Commissionerates status will remain unaltered, the sources said, adding that the Commissioner's post has been downgraded to the rank of an IGP.
Dwaraka Tirumala Rao has been posted as DGP, Railways, as the post remained vacant for the past few months after incumbent N Balasubrahmanyam took a long leave. Balasubrahmanyam has been posted as Additional DGP (Organisation) in the existing vacancy, though he will continue to be on leave for at least one and a half years.
Kripanand Tripathi Ujela has been made Additional DGP, Road Safety, filling up an existing vacancy. PHD Ramakrishna, who was recently promoted to the rank of Deputy Inspector General, has been posted as Director in the newly-created Special Enforcement Bureau.
The SEB was constituted to deal with illegal sand mining and illicit liquor, with special focus on districts bordering neighbouring states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Odisha and Telangana.
In the reshuffle, the government also shifted Superintendents of Police of five districts and the law and order Deputy Commissioners of Visakhapatnam city police.
The Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs) of Visakhapatnam were transferred, following certain recent controversies over alleged police excesses and adverse remarks made by the High Court, official sources said.
Accordingly, Udaya Bhaskar Billa and S Ranga Reddy have been shifted, with only the former getting a fresh posting as Assistant Inspector General (Administration) in the state police headquarters. Reddy has been asked to report to the DGP (Head of Police Force).