Down the memory lane......

I tried to ensure that the staff in Police Stations did not misbehave or indulged in corrupt practices.

My major hurdle was that some of the most corrupt officer enjoyed the patronage my superiors and it was always a struggle to keep them under check.

The town was notorious for collection of mamools (also known as hafta elsewhere) and collection was shared by local politicians and some superiors. My effort to control this nefarious practice brought me in direct confrontation with local politicians. But support from Sri N T Rama Rao, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh helped me to put a stop to this practice. All efforts of local goons and politicians to dislodge me from Vijayawada were unsuccessful and I continue to work there for almost three years. This was my longest field posting ever.

It was during my tenure that NTR decided to upgrade Vijayawada to a separate Police District in view of its importance. Sri K S Vyas, IPS was posted as Officer on Special Duty to oversee the task. He later became the first SP of Vijayawada with magisterial powers. He also became my first teacher in the real sense of the term. He taught me everything one needs to know in policing. He was a tough boss but lovable.

A first opposition conclave, called Mahanadu, was held for three days at Vijayawada, which saw the major opposition leaders of the country landing there. Making bandobust for rallies, where lakhs gathered was an experience for me. Number of senior officers in the rank of Inspector General were deployed to oversee the arrangements. But as ASP in charge of law and order, one was on toes for almost 72 hours and hardly had any sleep. It was a great lesson which helped me later in managing Prime Minister’s rally and election rallies.

To be continued......