Retired IPS officer and former Andhra Pradesh Intelligence Chief AB Venkateswara Rao (Retd.IPS:1989:AP) has sent legal notices to former DGPs D Gautam Sawang and RP Thakur, along with several serving and retired IPS officers and officials.
Those named include Ravi Shankar Ayyanar, PV Sunil Kumar, PSR Anjaneyulu and K Raghurami Reddy. Others named are retired Additional SP (CID) R Vijay Paul, retired Chief Accounts Officer in the DGP office C Govinda Rajan, ACB Additional SP S Sai Krishna and former CPRO to the Chief Minister Pudi Srihari.
The State of Andhra Pradesh has also been made a party through its Chief Secretary.
The notices have been sent under Section 80 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. Rao has sought damages of Rs 1 crore. He has accused them of malicious prosecution, illegal suspension, fabrication of records, defamation and violation of his rights under Article 21 of the Constitution.
AB Venkateswara Rao said he was falsely named in a case linked to the purchase of security equipment. This included an aerostat and unmanned aerial vehicles. The equipment was bought through the State Trading Corporation of India for use in anti-extremist operations and security work.
He said that the alleged conspiracy began in 2018 when he was serving as Additional DGP Intelligence. At that time, he was handling surveillance systems related to national security, anti-terror work, crime control and law and order.
Rao also said the High Court had quashed the FIR filed by the ACB and the charge sheet. He said this showed that the case against him was baseless.
He has said all those named are jointly responsible for paying damages. He has also sought 12 percent interest from February 8, 2020, which he called the date of the first cause of action.
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