By IANS,
Hyderabad : The Election Commission of India Sunday appointed A. K. Mohanty as the new director general of police of Andhra Pradesh.
Mohanty, who is currently heading the state road safety authority, succeeds Shyam Sundar Prasad Yadav, who was transferred by the poll panel Wednesday for praising the state government.
The state government, on the direction of the Election Commission, had Friday sent a panel of five senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officers for the appointment to the post of the state police chief.
Simultaneous elections to the 294-member state assembly and 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state are scheduled to be held in two phases April 16 and April 23.
While appointing Mohanty, the Election Commission has ignored the reservations of Muslim political party Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM).
MIM president and Hyderabad MP Asauddin Owaisi submitted a memorandum to election authorities, urging them not to consider the name of Mohanty for the top post.
He accused Mohanty of being anti-Muslim and alleged there were several instances of the police officer illegally confining Muslims or implicating them in terror cases.
Mohanty, a 1975 batch IPS officer, had earlier served as the police commissioner of Hyderabad in 2005. He was transferred by the government allegedly under pressure from the MIM.
The official was later appointed as the head of Octopus, the anti-terror force, but was removed by Yadav.
The Election Commission Wednesday ordered transfer of Yadav for violating the model code of conduct by praising the state government.
Addressing a press conference in Kurnool a few days ago, Yadav praised the Congress government and Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy for recruiting over 37,500 police personnel and for rehabilitation of the surrendered Maoists.
The Telugu Desam Party and other opposition parties lodged a complaint with the Election Commission. Seeking his removal, they said that free and fair elections were not possible with Yadav heading the state police force.
Yadav has also earned the poll panel’s wrath for not seeking its permission before leaving for Singapore.
Controversies surrounded the IPS officer of Bihar cadre ever since the state government appointed him the DGP in 2007, superseding some officers who were senior to him.