Visakhapatnam: Cops embroiled in fraud dent image of uniform

Visakhapatnam: The Andhra Pradesh police department's image is getting tarnished with cops either being trapped by the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) or arrested and suspended by the police department for their alleged involvement in corruption, criminal activities or irregularities in 2017. The ACB of Rajasthan arrested four police personnel from Vizag commissionerate for allegedly accepting bribes. The police team inspector of crime wing R.V.R.K. Choudhari, sub-inspectors Sk. Sharif (Parawada police station), Gopal Rao (MR peta police station) and constable of I-town police station S.

Hari Prasad had gone to Jodhpur in Rajasthan to arrest and recover gold in connection with a dacoity case that took place in Vizag, and was arrested by the ACB of Rajasthan for accepting a bribe from the accused persons for not arresting the accused and removing their names from the case. Around 1.5 kg gold and '1.2 lakh in cash was seized from the hotel where the Vizag police were lodged.

Dasari Ravi Babu, a DSP rank police officer, who had arrested criminals and land grabbers in Vizag city, turned a criminal in the police department and was arrested on charges of a double murder in Vizag in October 2017. Ravi Babu was the prime accused in the rowdy sheeter Kopperla Satyanarayana Raju alias Gedela Raju’s murder and also in the murder of K. Padmalatha, daughter of former MLA of Payakraopeta K. Nookaraju.

Ravi Babu had an affair with Padmalatha and decided to eliminate her when she had lodged a complaint against him and tarnished his image. The police officer had paid Rs 50 lakh to Gedela Raju to eliminate her and later with the support of other rowdy-sheeters, had murdered Gedela Raju, when he threatened and blackmailed the DSP to extort more money.

The arrest of Ravi Babu exposed the level of corruption of the police officers and the department in Vizag. Sources said that Ravi Babu has amassed crores of money by settling land-settlements with the support of some TD leaders and rowdy-sheeters when he was Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) of Gajuwaka and Madhurawada, where the real-estate business has been flourishing.

A senior officer with the ACB said that over 12 police personnel, including three inspector-rank officers, were arrested by the ACB for demanding and accepting bribes in 2017.  DG of ACB, Andhra Pradesh, R.P. Thakur said that the ACB has registered a total of 137 cases and 46 cases of disproportionate assets in 2017.
Sources in ACB said that though the police department is one of the most corrupt departments in the state, very few men-in-khaki have landed in the ACB net.
Despite the ACB raids, corruption is rampant in the state and its disturbing scale reflects in the fact that the market value of the properties seized by the ACB sleuths during raids on corrupt officers across the state has touched Rs 2,500 crore in 2017.