The fight between Andhra Pradesh Deputy Assembly Speaker K Raghu Ramakrishna Raju and suspended IPS officer P V Sunil Kumar (IPS:1993:AP) intensifies with Raju formally seeking Kumar’s dismissal. Earlier, it was vice versa with the IPS officer demanding that Raju be stripped of his official position.
This latest escalation in rift follows a high-voltage clash on social media with both trading charges against each other.
But the Deputy Speaker has now formally lodged a complaint with DGP Harish Kumar Gupta, accusing the IPS officer of making false, reckless, and defamatory allegations.
This fresh bout of conflict intensified after Sunil posted a video on Dec 20 insinuating at Raju’s imminent arrest by the CBI in a Rs 945 crore bank fraud case. Sunil claimed that by vacating a stay on the FIR, the Supreme Court had “cleared” the way for such action.
It infuriated Raju, who lambasted Sunil for making public claims regarding a CBI investigation against him. According to Raju, it amounted to a “media trial” designed to prejudice judicial proceedings and pressure investigative agencies. Raju also alleged that such public commentary by a suspended civil servant constitutes a grave violation of the All India Services (Conduct) Rules.
Sunil countered this attack by demanding that Raju be stripped of his constitutional post as Deputy Speaker to ensure an “equitable and fair investigation,” arguing that he himself was suspended for a similar reason over custodial torture allegations.
The story of this bitter rivalry began in 2021 when Raju, then a YSR Congress’s rebel MP, was arrested by the CID, headed by Sunil, on charges of sedition. Raju later alleged of brutal custodial torture and named Sunil as the prime accused in an attempt-to-murder case.
The fight got murkier after a regime change in the state with the installation of the Chandrababu Naidu govt and Raju becoming the Deputy Speaker of the State Assembly. As a result, the IPS officer was placed under suspension.
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