E-Paper
Chandrababu Naidu government suspends senior IPS officer. Here's why
P V Sunil Kumar is a DGP-rank senior IPS officer who was awaiting his posting before the suspension order came.
The N Chandrababu Naidu government in Andhra Pradesh on Sunday suspended senior IPS officer P V Sunil Kumar for allegedly making repeated foreign visits without prior permission during the previous YSRCP regime.
According to the order issued by chief secretary K Vijayanand, Kumar had deviated from the travel plan approved by the government during the overseas trips he is accused of taking.
"Now, therefore, in the exercise of the powers conferred under Rule 3 (1) of the All India Service (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969, the Government of Andhra Pradesh hereby places P V Sunil Kumar, IPS, under suspension with immediate effect," the order stated, according to PTI.
Kumar is a DGP-rank officer who was awaiting his posting. According to the suspension order, Georgia, the UAE, Sweden, the USA, and the UK were among the destinations involved in his alleged unauthorised visits between 2019 and 2024.
The state was ruled by the erstwhile YSRCP government, led by Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, during that period.
What did chief secretary K Vijayanand say about the trips taken by IPS officer PV Sunil Kumar?
The suspension order issued against IPS officer PV Sunil Kumar stated that he had repeatedly demonstrated willful disregard for established practices.
The chief secretary said that Kumar’s actions exhibit gross negligence, indiscipline, and grave misconduct by undertaking foreign travel without obtaining the requisite permission. He also added that disciplinary proceedings were being contemplated for such repeated acts of "grave misconduct."
Pointing out one of the trips, K Vijayanand said that although Kumar was granted permission to visit Georgia from March 1 to 4, 2024, he allegedly deviated from the approved plan and visited the UAE within those four days without permission.
Similarly, he pointed out that Kumar visited the United States between February 1 and 28, 2023, departing from Hyderabad without obtaining prior government approval, among other such unauthorised trips.
