The Prakasam district superintendent of police on Saturday cracked the whip on three errant police officers and transferred them the Vacancy Reserve (VR). Action against the officers was taken based on an inquiry carried out after several allegations of corruption, rude and inappropriate behaviour surfaced.
The decision to remove three officers from their post comes a day after 38 officers, ranking from home guards to assistant sub-inspectors, were transferred following complaints raised against them, said a police press statement.
Komorolu police station Station House Officer (SHO) S Mallikarjuna Rao, Dornala police station SHO SK Abdul Rehaman and the Gudluru police station SHO Y Panduranga Rao are the three officers transferred to the Vacancy Reserve. Under Vacancy Reserve, the officers will report to the police headquarters until their next posting. An internal inquiry had proved the officers guilty of corrupt practices and rude and inappropriate behaviour with the public.
Prakasam district SP Siddharth Kaushal said that several more police officers from the district are facing allegations and are under investigation, while some officers are under surveillance. There is also a possibility of criminal action, if necessary, against these officers based on the inquiry report, the officer told the media.
Earlier in August, the Chirala II Town sub-inspector K Vijay Kumar was arrested for negligence that allegedly led to the custodial death of a Dalit youth Y Kiram Kumar. The youth along with his friend was picked up by the police for allegedly not wearing a mask on July 18. Kiran died while undergoing treatment for a head injury at Guntur on July 21. The officer was suspended soon after the incident, and on August 1 was booked under Section 304 (a) of the Indian Penal Code for causing death by negligence and subsequently attested.
The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy soon after had called for a probe. The Director-General of Police D Gautam Sawang had stated that police officers are above the law and any excess or corruption by them will not be tolerated.