AB Venkateswar Rao pressurised cops to falsely implicate CM Jagan, family, says DIG

Vijayawada: DIG (Technical) Pala Raju on Sunday alleged that the former State police intelligence chief and suspended IPS officer AB Venkateswar Rao (ABV) pressurised police officers to falsely implicate CM Jagan and his family members in the YS Vivekananda Reddy murder case.

He said some sincere police officers did not succumb to the pressure exerted by Venkateswara Rao. The DIG along with two other police officials on Sunday responded to the nine-page letter written by Venkateswara Rao to the CBI which said that the then CBI officials have ignored when he had furnished information to the CBIin Vivekananda Reddy murder case.

Andhra Pradesh police represented by DIG Technical services, Palaraju, former SP of Kadapa Rahul Dev Sharma and Ammireddy (representative of IPS officers association), addressed a media conference at the State police office.

Pala Raju questioned as to why the former intelligence chief did not respond for two years after the murder and now why he sent a letter to the CBI. He said AB Venkateswara Rao should have used important information in the investigation when he was the chief of the intelligence bureau.

Palaraju said, "For 15 days after the murder, AB Venkateswara Rao was running the entire investigation on Vivekananda Reddy murder case and passing orders to the then Kadapa SP and others."

Palaraju also wondered, 'Why didn't Venkateswara Rao use important information that he had on the murder when he was an active part of the investigation? While leaving, it is mandatory for any officer to disclose every single detail to the successor," Pala Raju added.

Pala Raju stated that for three months after the murder, the then government was in power and nine months after the present government took over also the case was with Andhra Pradesh police only. He said, "Since the last one year, it has been with the CBI. What took Venkateswara Rao more than two years to come out with this information?

Questioning the manner in which the letter was made public and the timing of the same, the officer said, "When ABV was investigating the case, he pressurised the then SP of Kadapa district Rahul Dev Sharma and other officers to implicate the present CM and his family in this murder case. Even today, if he actually wants to provide evidence,

he could do so in a sealed

cover to the CBI.

Why Venkateswara Rao

had made public the letter

he had written to the

CBI on Vivekananda Reddy murder case?"