Setting the process of bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh on fast track, an eight-member Task Force headed by K. Vijay Kumar, senior security advisor to the Home Ministry, has completed its first meeting with senior police officers at the Marri Chenna Reddy Centre for Good Governance here on Tuesday.
The task force has been appointed by the Centre to advise it on handling the post-bifurcation law and order situation.
The group considered crucial to the Centre’s plans, is mandated to prepare “a strategy paper to deal with the security situation evolving due to the bifurcation of AP and formation of Telangana.”
The first day of meeting looked into the basics of police force of united AP and properties of AP police, battalions, Special Forces such as Greyhounds and Octopus and how to divide them when the state is bifurcated.
Speaking to media Vijay Kumar said “Todays meeting was preliminary and the theme of the meeting was ensuring the police forces to remain strong after bifurcation as well.”
Vijay Kumar further said that the Task force will also look into the need of training facilities and capacity building in the Seemandhra state after bifurcation.
State officers and some former top cops said that they discussed on the feasibility of a Delhi-type police administration in Hyderabad.
The Task Force will also deliberate on law and order issues with focus on the likely situation in Hyderabad, which would be the common capital for 10 years. Advice of the senior police officers was particularly sought by the task force on this issue.
The Task Force includes Director General of ASCI S.K. Rao and retired IAS officer B.V. Papa Rao. The Centre has sent a list of former Directors-General of Police and retired bureaucrats who will be members of the Consultative Committee including former DGPs H.J. Dora and K. Aravinda Rao, C. Anjaneya Reddy, A.K. Mohanty, present DGP B. Prasada Rao, Anurag Sharma, Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad (in his official capacity), Director of AP Police Academy, Malakondaiah, IPS officer E. Damodar, IGP, CRPF N.R.K. Reddy.
“They have been co-opted on the basis of their independent and objective thinking capabilities, uncoloured by any regional feelings,” sources said.
However state DGP Prasada Rao could not attend the meeting as he has left for Delhi to meet with Union Home ministry officials. AK Mohanty and C. Anjaneya Reddy also were absent from the meeting. Anjaneya Reddy said he cannot attend a meeting that is supposedly for bifurcation of the state.
The task force will meet again on Wednesday and B Vijay Kumar has said it will be in Hyderabad for three days.
This is the third such committee announced by the Centre after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) announced on July 30 its decision in favour of division of AP. While the Antony Committee was a non-starter, the Group of Ministers has restricted its task to receiving reports through emails from a cross-section of society.
Meanwhile, the TRS party has made a complaint to the Group of Ministers on Telangana saying that none of the DGP level officers in the Task force belonged to Telangana.
“More over the Task force should also take into cognizance the allegations of former DGP Dinesh Reddy who said he was forced by chief minister to send fake reports to union home ministry on the spurt in Maoist activity in Telangana,” TRS MLA K Taraka Ramarao said.
