HYDERABAD/KARIMNAGAR: Taking cognizance of the attack on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state unit president and Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay's office and his subsequent remand, Lok Sabha Secretariat (privileges and ethics branch) issued a notice to Telangana Chief Secretary, principal secretary (home), Director General of Police (DGP) and to Karimnagar police commissioner, along with four other police officials, on Saturday. The alleged delinquent officials were asked to attend before the committee of privileges on February 3.
This development has come as a jolt to the administration as it is the first time that top officials of the state were summoned to depose before the committee of privileges after the formation of the Telangana state.
It is to be noted that when Sanjay staged a deeksha at his camp office in Karimnagar district on January 2 along with his supporters following Covid-19 guidelines to protest against the state government for issuing order G.O. No. 317 related to transfers of government employees and teachers.
Since the police denied permission for holding the deeksha in public, Sanjay, along with some other BJP leaders, decided to stage the deeksha by locking themselves at the MP’s camp office in support of the employees and teachers. But all of a sudden, the police attacked the MP’s camp office and arrested Sanjay under Disaster Management Act. Sanjay was later sent to jail.
Sanjay filed a complaint to the Lok Sabha Parliamentary Privileges Committee alleging that the police officials misbehaved with him and not only obstructed his duties but also attacked him with no reason.
He appeared before the 15-member privileges committee on Friday and informed the committee about how the police entered into his office by cutting the iron gates with a gas cutter and arrested him illegally apart from sending him to jail.
Sanjay also submitted evidences, video and newspaper clippings to the committee and informed that the High Court also expressed anger against the state government and the police officials on the issue and urged the panel headed by Sunil Kumar Singh to take action against the responsible persons.
On receiving the complaint from Sanjay, the privileges committee within hours issued notices and asked Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, principal secretary Ravi Gupta, DGP M. Mahendar Reddy, Karimnagar police commissioner V. Satyanarayana, Huzurabad ACP Kotla Venkat Reddy, ASI V. Srinivas, Jammikunta ASI K. Ramachandram and ASI Challmalla Naresh to attend before the committee on February 3.
