SSP Yadav -- Out, hit-wicket.

Desaraju Surya
Hyderabad: S S P Yadav is finally out – hit-wicket, so to say.
His own follies and character proved to be his undoing as he was rightfully shunted out of Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police post by Chief Minister K Rosaiah.
Now, an upright and deserving officer of the 1976-batch of Indian Police Service – R R Girish Kumar – has become the state police head. Unlike Yadav, Girish Kumar is an honest officer who commands the respect of his subordinate officers and men.
What good is a leader if he doesn’t command respect from his own subordinates!
Yadav did not deserve to be the state DGP as not a single IPS officer or an ordinary police officer liked or respected him. He got into the post in October 2007 in a dubious manner as he had a so-called godfather in an extra-constitutional authority.
Yadav, in a virtual demotion, has now been made the managing director of Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation, a post normally held by IG or Additional DGP rank officers.
Yadav always remained in news – but for all the wrong reasons.
Yadav, a 1972 batch officer, was first appointed as the DGP in October 2007 but the Election Commission of India ordered his replacement in March this year because of his bias towards the Congress, more particularly the then Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy.
Rather than being the public servant, which is he supposed to be as per the Constitution, Yadav always remained loyal only to Rajasekhara Reddy, his son Jaganmohan Reddy and the extra-constitutional authority called K V P Ramachandra Rao.
Yadav was reinstated as the DGP the very next day after Rajasekhara Reddy assumed charge as state Chief Minister for a second term on May 20.
But Yadav has come under fire over the handling of the crisis after the government chopper carrying then Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and others went missing on September 2.
The government was unhappy with the functioning of Yadav and what irked the Rosaiah administration most was the DGP’s observation that the Chief Minister’s security was not the police responsibility once the VIP was air-borne. “Why was such a big fuss being made when it was a helicopter crash in which five persons were killed,” Yadav questioned a newsmen during one of his visits to temple-town Tirupati. He also bad mouthed media personnel in highly objectionable language and attracted the wrath of the government.
Even the events following the helicopter incident also landed Yadav in soup, what with police failure becoming glaring in many cases. The government then gave enough indications that the DGP would soon be shunted out.
The groupism in the state police intensified during Yadav’s stint as the DGP and even the top IPS officers were ill-at-ease with him.
Police administration in Andhra Pradesh remained in tatters when Yadav was at the helm. He left the entire state police force demoralized with his sadistic acts and chaos reigned supreme. Law and Order became a major casualty as crimes followed an upward curve. Atrocities on women were at a record high but, as the state police head, Yadav failed to rise to the occasion and lead the force from the front to curb lawlessness.
There was jubilation in the entire police ranks the day Yadav was shown the door by a firm Rosaiah. “It’s a very good day indeed,” one Inspector General rank officer remarked. “Thank God, we got rid of him at last,” one DIG observed.
The affable Girish Kumar, hopefully, will bring back the lost glory to the AP police force. And, his first promise soon after assuming charge as DGP was to do that.