Hyderabad: Four IAS officers from Telangana state are among the contenders for the post of private secretary (PS) to minister of state for home G, Kishan Reddy, but the name of an IPS officer working in the Hyderabad police is said to have been shortlisted. A final decision is likely to be taken in a day or two.
The officer in question is Mr Ambar Kishor Jha, a 2009 batch IPS officer who is posted as deputy commissioner of police (DCP), south zone. Sources told this newspaper that the names of Nalgonda collector Dr Gaurav Uppal, Bhadradri Kothagudem collector Rajath Kumar Saini, Ms Amrapali Kata, who is posted with the GHMC, and Mr K. Ilambarthi, secretary of the state information commission, were doing the rounds.
“Having an IPS officer as the private secretary works better as the minister will be dealing with various issues relating to the police force and paramilitary forces. Posting an IAS officer there may not be advisable though previously IAS officers have held the post,” sources said. The PS to MoS, home, in the previous NDA government, Mr Kiren Rijiju had IAS officer Vikas Anand as his private secretary.
Over the last month, inquiries have been made with at least five officers, mostly IAS, whether they were incl-ined to take up the job.
While it was widely believed in bureaucratic circles that Dr Uppal was the frontrunner, it is learnt that his name was dropped as he had previously worked as PS to MoS (railways) Kotla Suryaprakash Reddy during the UPA regime. A DIG rank officer from Andhra Pradesh too had thrown his hat in the ring.
Mr Jha, who hails from Madhubani district in Bihar, is an engineering graduate. Prior to joining the IPS, he worked as a senior Eexecutive in Bharat Petroleum. His first posting as ASP was in Utnoor in Adilabad district. He has worked as Warangal Rural SP and later as SP of Bhadradri Kothagudem district from where he was shifted to Hyderabad police as DCP, south zone, in September 2018.
