Hyderabad: While officials superior to him and his subordinates have been shunted out by the Election Commission of India in the last few days, the Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police R. P. Thakur - being targeted mainly by the YSR Congress, which even sought his transfer by the Election Commission of India - continues to be safe in the hot seat for now.
However, a 'homam', performed to gratify the planets to solve all problems, at the residence of Mr Thakur at Suryaraopeta in Vijayawada on Wednesday created quite a buzz among the bureaucrats, as it was performed just 24 hours before the polling.
The 'homam' came a day after the bonhomie between Mr Thakur and special police observer K. K. Sharma was in full display at the Andhra Pradesh police headquarters. Both of them hugged each other and Sharma even planted a tree at the headquarters' lawn - sending across a message that the AP police finally seemed to have fallen in line with the Election Commission.
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, on the other hand, is at 'war' with the EC over the transfers of quite a few of his top officials.
Sources told the Deccan Chronicle that the 'homam' was performed by priests who were brought from Hyderabad.
The 'puja' started in the morning and went on till the afternoon, and it was only afterwards that the state police chief left for his office.
Though it was strictly a family affair, the word that a big 'homam' was conducted in the DGP's house spread fairly quickly and took the bureaucracy by surprise, many of whom tried to read between the lines.
“The police chief has been under tremendous pressure in the last month, especially after the EC transferred DG Intelligence, three SPs, and the Chief Secretary, among others. In all the petitions filed by the YSR Congress before the EC, allegations of Mr Thakur being partisan have been made repeatedly. His transfer has been sought by the YSR Congress many times," said the police officials.
When asked why the 'homam' generated so much buzz, officials explained that it was more about the timing.
“Various theories about it did rounds today, especially because polling begins tomorrow. It is no secret that Mr Thakur is close to the powers that be. Now, whether the 'homam' was performed for the TD's victory or to sustain his own position is still not clear,” some senior officials said.
