Once a Naxal stronghold, Garjanapally celebrates its first IPS officer

Garjanapally celebrates as native Bhukya Ram Reddy Naik becomes IPS, first from Lambada tribe in Telangana.

Villagers of Garjanapally, the forest-fringe village in Veernapally mandal of Telangana’s Rajanna Sircilla district, are rejoicing at the conferment of IPS rank on Bhukya Ram Reddy Naik, a native of Seetharam Naik Tanda, a gram panchayat carved out of Garjanapally.

Mr. Naik is currently the Superintendent of Police with the Telangana Crime Investigation Department (CID). He joined the police department as a Sub-Inspector of Police in 1989 and rose to the rank of IPS. The non-cadre SP was conferred with IPS recently.

Mr. Naik is, perhaps, the first sub-inspector of police from the Lambada tribal community in the State to rise to the rank of IPS, sources close to his family said. He was felicitated by a host of organisations representing Lambadas and local youth in his native village last week.

The forest region surrounding Garjanapally, an erstwhile stronghold of naxalites from 1980s to early 2000s, witnessed several ‘fierce encounters’ between police and Naxalites when Naxalite activity was at its peak more than two decades ago.

The forest-fringe villages of Garjanapally and Seetharam Naik Tanda with a population of about 2,000 have over 250 persons working in various government departments in different ranks. A major chunk of them are police constables/SIs and teachers.

Once a volatile region, Garjanapally, close to the Maddimalla forest area, saw significant development in terms of school and road infrastructure in the last decade. Mr. Naik reached the top position in his career bringing fame to our village, said B. Ravi Naik, former sarpanch of Seetharam Naik Tanda.

Mr. Naik himself wrote a script for a play titled ‘Maarpu’ (Change) woven around the theme of combating the menace of ganja, acted in it and won wide appreciation from art aficionados during his college days, said N. Ramji Naik of Seetharam Naik Tanda, who also acted in the play.