Election Commission Revokes Suspension Of Ex-Telangana DGP

Hyderabad

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has lifted the suspension of Anjani Kumar, former Director General of Police (DGP) in Telangana, who was suspended for meeting Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy during the state Assembly poll vote counting. The suspension had been imposed for violating the Model Code of Conduct, as Reddy was then the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president.

Anjani Kumar's suspension led to the appointment of Ravi Gupta as the new DGP. However, the ECI reversed the suspension after Kumar provided a clarification, asserting that the violation was unintentional. He explained that he visited Revanth Reddy's house at the latter's request and assured the Commission that such a mistake would not recur. The ECI had earlier taken a serious view of Kumar, along with two other officials, for meeting Reddy during the ongoing vote counting, deeming it an indication of malafide intentions. The decision on whether Anjani Kumar will be reinstated as DGP or if Ravi Gupta will continue in the role remains uncertain, pending a decision by the newly formed Congress government led by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy. A significant bureaucratic reshuffle is anticipated in the coming days. Anjani Kumar, a 1990 batch IPS officer, had assumed the position of DGP last year and had previously served in key roles, including as the Hyderabad police commissioner from 2018 to 2021.