The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has reportedly filed a case against Indian Information Services (IIS) officer Thumma Vijay Kumar Reddy, former Information and Public Relations (I&PR) Commissioner and former Ex-Officio Secretary I&PR, Government of Andhra Pradesh. Corruption, nepotism, irregularity and abuse of power causing loss to the state exchequer should be banned.
Although the ACB filed a First Information Report (FIR) against Shri Vijay Kumar Reddy in November 2024, it came to light on December 25, 2024.
According to the FIR, Mr. Vijay Kumar Reddy hired outsourcing employees on the recommendation of politicians without following the recruitment norms.
142 posts include PRO, photographer, videographer, information technician, data entry operator, office staff and driver.
The ACB alleged that Mr. Vijay Kumar Reddy violated the rules by extending the tenure of Karthikeya security agencies, which provided outsourcing personnel to the government. The FIR also stated that the officer allegedly directed Karthikeya’s security agencies to appoint people suggested by politicians, instead of following due process.
It was also alleged that Shri Vijay Kumar Reddy had filled 113 other posts in AP Digital Corporation Limited (APDC), which included, among others, special officers, content developers, and social media analysts.
While recruiting candidates for these posts, the officer allegedly acted on the recommendation of the then Chief Digital Officer G Devendra Reddy. In the preliminary investigation, it has been revealed that the government does not have the biodata of some of the employees working in outsourcing.
Further, the FIR alleged that Mr. Vijay Kumar Reddy had given most of the video advertisements to select news channels which included TV9, Sakshi and NTV.
Of the total ₹26.71 crore spent on advertising, ₹16.17 crore was given to Sakshi, TV9 and NTV. It was alleged that no advertisement was given to ABN Andhra Jyoti, TV5 and Maha News from 2019 to February 2024.
In the FIR it is mentioned that Shri Vijay Kumar Reddy gave verbal instructions to boycott these news channels. Besides, he allegedly failed to clear pending bills related to ETV AP, ABN Andhra Jyothi, TV5, Maha News and some other TV channels while processing the bills of Sakshi, TV9 and NTV, the FIR said.
In terms of print media advertisements, a total of ₹ 859.29 crore was released for classified and display advertisements in newspapers from 2019 to 2024. It was found that Mr. Vijay Kumar Reddy had allegedly released advertisements worth ₹ 371.12 crore, which was more than 43%. Sakshi newspaper only.
The ACB further alleged that Shri Vijay Kumar Reddy gave undue preference to Sakshi over other newspapers while clearing the bills. Also, he has accused Sakshi newspaper of increasing the advertisement fee more than the demanded price and causing loss to the government exchequer.
Mahendra Mathe, Additional Superintendent of Police, Guntur Range, ACB, is the investigating officer.
published – Dec 26, 2024 at 04:19 pm IST