The Election Commission of India (ECI) today revoked the suspension of Telangana Director General of Police (DGP) Anjani Kumar, who was earlier suspended for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by meeting Congress leader Revanth Reddy, now the Chief Minister, during the state assembly election counting earlier this month.
Mr Kumar visited Mr Reddy at his residence as the counting of the votes was underway. Photos of Mr Kumar offering a bouquet to Mr Reddy ignited a firestorm on social media, triggering questions about potential breaches of the MCC.
Mr Kumar was accompanied by state police officers Sanjay Kumar Jain and Mahesh M Bhagwat.
The DGP's meeting with just one candidate out of 2,290 - a star campaigner from one specific party among 16 - raised suspicion of favouritism and concerns about the DGP's neutrality and adherence to the MCC, which mandates impartiality from officials during elections.
The ECI deemed the meeting as a clear breach of the code, saying the DGP's actions could negatively impact junior officers.
Following Mr Kumar's suspension, senior IPS officer Ravi Gupta was given additional charge of Telangana DGP.
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