Vijayawada Police Chief in trouble

HYDERABAD: The State government has ordered an inquiry into charges of sexual harassment levelled against Police Commissioner of Vijayawada, P. Sita Ram Anjaneyulu.

Taking a serious view of the allegations against the Police Commissioner on Wednesday, Home Minister P. Sabitha Indra Reddy asked the Director General of Police K. Aravinda Rao to institute an inquiry and submit a report.

An official of additional DGP rank would inquire into the charges against the Police Commissioner who is likely to go on leave to facilitate the probe.

Staff Reporter from Vijayawada adds: Mr. Anjaneyulu said that the allegation that he harassed some women by sending text messages and making repeated calls to them was part of a “trap” laid by Telugu Desam Party urban president Vallabhaneni Vamsi Mohan to settle scores with him.

The Commissioner held a press conference following the telecast of a report by a Telugu news channel, which said that he sent “obscene” text messages and made several calls from his official mobile phone to some women in the city. He said he was aware of the “game” being played for the last four months by Mr. Vamsi Mohan with the help of his cousin, a lady physician in a city hospital. “But I willingly played along to actually trap Vamsi Mohan. He was nursing a grudge against me because I placed restrictions on the number of vehicles in his convoy and withdrew some of the gunmen given to him,” Mr. Anjaneyulu said.

Mr. Vamsi Mohan later told the channels that Mr. Anjaneyulu threatened him and took sides with Congress leader Devineni Rajasekhar (Nehru). Instead of levelling allegations that he used a lady to trap him, the Commissioner should do well to own up the mistake, he said.

Never once denying, and, in fact, admitting that he sent all those messages and made the calls as shown on the channel, Mr. Anjaneyulu asserted that he did not commit anything wrong and his conscience was clear on this. “I have every right to make or maintain friendship with anyone and there is no need to be accountable on this to any person except my wife,” he said.

Asked how he could spend so much time on making calls and sending messages, Mr. Anjaneyulu maintained that what was important was how effectively he discharged his duties.