Chandrababu Naidu yet to decide on chief of intelligence department of AP

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh CM-in-waiting N. Chandrababu Naidu is yet to decide who will be chief of the intelligence department.

Though he has appointed J.V. Ramudu as in-charge director general of police, he has kept the crucial intelligence chief post open till he is sworn in as CM.

There are several contenders for the post and Mr Naidu’s team is working on whether to make the post of the rank of additional director-general or inspector-general of police.

Initially, it looked like inspector general of police, Dwaraka Tirumala Rao, would be made intelligence head, but later, several other names cropped up. Additional DGs R.P. Thakur, Gautam Sawang, A.B. Venkateswara Rao and inspector general Balasubrahmanyam are all being considered for the top post.

Mr Thakur is currently director, Vigilance and Enforcement department.

Mr Sawang was earlier the anti-Naxal Special Intelligence Branch chief. He has been entrusted with coordinating security arrangements for Mr Naidu’s swearing- in ceremony in Guntur.

Mr Balarsubrahmanyam is already in the intelligence department and was involved in the controversy regarding the Gujarat encounter case.