Director General of police (DGP) Anjani Kumar’s suspension was lifted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday. The suspension was imposed due to Kumar’s meeting with Congress leader and current chief minister, Revanth Reddy, on December 3, during the assembly poll vote counting process, which violated the model mode of conduct.
Reddy was given a bouquet when Kumar, state police nodal officer Sanjay Jain, and nodal (expenditure) officer Mahesh Bhagwat met him at his Hyderabad home.
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Images of Kumar and Reddy went viral on social media, sparking concerns about possible MCC infractions. The EC claimed that the DGP’s decision to meet one of the 2,290 candidates running for office and the leading candidate of one of the 16 political parties was a blatant sign that he was trying to curry favor.
The election commission declared the meeting a blatant violation of the code and emphasized that the DGP’s actions could negatively affect less experienced officers.
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Senior IPS officer Ravi Gupta was given the additional responsibility of DGP following Kumar’s suspension. Telangana Chief Secretary A Santhi Kumari issued a government order that stated, “Ravi Gupta is placed in full additional charge to the post of DGP, head of police force (HoPF) of Telangana, with immediate effect, until further orders.”
