A.B. Venkateswara Rao given posting by Andhra Pradesh government hours before retirement

Senior IPS officer reinstated after suspension, takes charge as Commissioner of Printing, Stationery, and Stores Purchase before retirement.

Senior IPS officer A.B. Venkateswara Rao was posted as the Commissioner of Printing, Stationery and Stores Purchase on Friday morning, shortly after his suspension was revoked by Chief Secretary K.S. Jawahar Reddy.

Mr. Venkateswara Rao immediately took charge at his office hours before retiring on attaining superannuation on May 31 evening. 

The State government had to reinstate Mr. Venkateswara Rao in service as a consequence of the High Court’s refusal on May 30 to suspend the Central Administrative Tribunal (Hyderabad branch) order that he deserved to be taken back.

In his brief remarks, Mr. Venkateswara Rao said he was taking charge of the same post which he held two years ago, when he was placed under suspension for the second time on grounds of misconduct.

He refrained from making further comments, saying that it would be unfair to cross the line as an officer in service, while considering his retirement in uniform as a dream come true.

Mr. Venkateswara Rao thanked his family, friends and well-wishers who stood by him during the tough times he faced in the recent years.

It may be noted that Mr. Venkateswara Rao is accused of irregularities in the purchase of equipment required for anti-extremist and security operations when he was posted as Additional DGP (Intelligence) four years ago.