IPS babus seek plum posts

Hyderabad, Dec. 14: Even as the state is grappling with a major political crisis over separate Telangana, IPS officers are busy pondering which cadre they would find themselves in if the state is divided.

Sources said that officers of the superintendent of police rank may prefer to seek postings in districts such as East Godavari that would fall under Andhra’s jurisdiction.

At the same time, IPS officers of additional director-general rank may prefer to stay at Hyderabad as they are at the fag end of their career. Many of them think it inevitable that officers would have to be divided among the states after bifurcation. This would prove to be a tough task for the ministry of home affairs in case the political crisis blows over. When Jharkhand was separated from Bihar, 12 IPS officers of Bihar cadre requested for transfer to Jharkhand and submitted representations against the allocation of Bihar cadre after the division.

However, the MHA rejected their plea and said government would go only by merit or cases of genuine hardship of individual officers. “Majority of IAS and IPS officers had opted for Jharkhand, even though only one third of them had to be sent to Jharkhand during division,” said a senior cop. “When the list was announced it caused lot of heartburn. This may also happen during the proposed bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.” “During division, IPS officers can select their cadre and it also depends on the academic rank and as well as the place of origin,” said a senior police officer of ADG rank said. “While selecting the cadre the IPS officers may also consider education of their children.”

Many are angling for East Godavari, the biggest district. The Visakhapatnam police commissionerate is also an attractive option as it is a no-problem city. The crime rate is also very less in North Andhra except for the spillover of the Maoist menace in neighbouring Orissa.

There are two police commissionerates—Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam—in Andhra and two in Telangana—Hyderabad and Cyberabad.

“If the separate States are formed the long pending proposals for making Warangal, Guntur, Rajahmundry and Tirupati as police commissionerates may be taken up at fast pace,” said an official.

Naxalism can still be a big problem in Andhra Orissa border as well as in North Telangana. “Though ISI sponsored terrorism poses a big threat in Hyderabad we cannot ignore key cities such as Visakhapatnam and Tirupati in Andhra as they are also targets of Lashkar e Tayabba,” said an official.