In a surprising and strategic move the Election Commission of India (ECI) has posted senior AP police officer Kolli Raghurami Reddy as Election Police Observer in Assam. Reddy is presently heading SIT at AP CID and is said to be close to chief minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy.
He had arrested Chandrababu Naidu last year and was also investigating several other politically sensitive cases like capital lands. Opposition leaders are accusing him of playing a crucial role in `creating’ false evidence against key opposition leaders, including TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu, Atcham Naidu, Dr Narayana and Nara Lokesh, to fabricate them in false cases.
Opposition parties have been demanding to keep him away from election related duties in the state. Only on Monday a big uproar arose over the burning of a large number of papers at the SIT compound. While the CID claiming them to be `waste papers’, the TDP leaders alleged that expecting a change of government after the polls senior officials destroyed `false evidence’ papers, so as to cover up their misdeeds.
Meanwhile, it was also speculated that key papers obtained from Heritage Foods were also burnt. Even while this controversy continued, the ECI orders reached on Monday evening. Normally, ECI appoints retired police officers as Election Police Observers in critical states. But, it chose to appoint Rahhurami Reddy for Assam.
This directive is likely to make YS Jagan uneasy, as he will be kept away from the state during the election period. Kolli Raghurami Reddy has been posted as a police observer for 10 assembly constituencies in Assam. He will be based in Guwahati to perform his duties.
His prominence in the present government reflects with holding him to several key responsibilities. Besides heading SIT, he is also in charge of Vigilance and Enforcement department. He was also appointed as DG of the Drug Control Board.
