G. Raghava Reddy belonged to the last batch of Hyderabad Police Service (HPS), a coveted civil service in erstwhile Nizam state and Hyderabad state. The last batch was selected in 1956 by the Hyderabad Public Service Commission and at the same time States reorganization was announced. Hyderabad State was divided into three parts and the States of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka were created. Of the five HPS candidates selected for this batch, three were allotted to Andhra Pradesh, including Raghava Reddy, and one each to Maharashtra and Karnataka. On formation of Andhra Pradesh (AP), Raghava Reddy joined AP police as Deputy Superintendent of Police on 2nd January 1957 and finally retired as Deputy Inspector General of Police from IPS cadre of AP on 31 July 1986 with two years extension, after 32 years of successful service of brilliant record. Raghava Reddy left a lasting impression in the Police Department of Andhra Pradesh. He will be ever remembered for his unflagging zeal, impeccable honesty, indomitable spirit, and dedication to duty, which were all in pursuit of rendering qualitative service to society as a police officer.

He cherished these perennial principles so dearly that he relentlessly practiced to implement them in letter and in spirit, proving the dictum that "respect is commanded and not demanded."

To illustrate his leadership qualities and commitment to the principles of discipline and determination, a few very important instances of professional competence of high order are quoted below:

In 1964, Raghava Reddy was working as Assistant Commissioner of Police, Saifabad division, in Hyderabad city. There was a sensational case of abduction of a young married Muslim lady in broad daylight on a very busy Goshamhal Main Road. A middle aged, well-to-do, Rajput man hailing from Uppal in the outskirts of Hyderabad city, whose evil eye got bewitched by her charm and elegance, got her physically lifted by a notorious gang of hoodlums. She was taken in a taxicab to an interior place near Uppal and put in a hut near his agricultural well.

This incident spread like wild fire in the highly communally sensitive areas, where a very explosive communal tension built up endangering peace in large areas of the Old city. Raghava Reddy, the young Asst commissioner of police known for his extraordinary abilities of investigation and enviable alacrity, sprung into action and obtained a vital clue from a child witness who happened to note down the taxi number! With this excellent lead, the hapless lady in captivity was rescued in pitch darkness.

In the process of rescuing the crying lady, praying God to save her modesty, a notorious rowdy by the name of "Kavva Pahelwan" was keeping watch at the hut and unpredictably attacked the inspector of police with a spring knife. Miraculously, an alert head constable pushed down the inspector, allowing the stroke of the knife to fall on the ground and saving the inspectors life. The head constable fell in a 40 feet deep dry open well and sustained a serious hip fracture, leaving him with life long complications.

All the while, Raghava Reddy was focusing the headlights to bring the captive lady out and opening fire with his service revolver to keep the other four hoodlums of the gang away from pelting stones. In a matter of just three hours, the lady was rescued and all the members of the notorious gang were apprehended. The lady was safely rescued before the monstrous perpetrator of the most abominable crime could do any harm to her. The heroic act of the head constable demonstrating extraordinary alacrity and duty consciousness is still remembered in Hyderabad city police even today.

The main culprit along with all the hired hoodlums was promptly arrested and with the arduous efforts of Raghava Reddy, they were convicted for the abhorring, heinous offences they committed. This was hailed as a unique achievement of Raghava Reddy, who remained an unforgettable police officer throughout his three decades of memorable Police service, getting approbation from all quarters.

In continuing with this theme of professionalism, the following selected experiences were narrated by Raghava Reddy, now at the age of 79 years and after 18 years of his retirement, on 15th December 2004:

As a result of the various positions I was fortunate to hold, I remained in Hyderabad city continuously for over two decades from 1962 to until my retirement in 1986; a rare feat in Government service. During these eventful years, I had the benefit of working under towering personalities like A.K.K. Nambiar, B.N. Kalyan Rao, M.V. Narayan Rao, Kona Ramchandra Reddy, S. Anand Ram, and K.VijayaRama Rao, who were all stalwarts. I had the proud privilege of undergoing practical training as a Probationer at Guntur in 1958 under Mr. T.V. Rajeshwar, who was then the Superintendent of Police Guntur. The training was so field oriented and practical that it kept me in good stead throughout my service. Mr. Rajeshwar is now Governor of Utter Pradesh and former Governor of West Bengal. The close association with Kona Ramchandra Reddy, M.V. NarayanRao, and K. VijayaRama Rao in my professional work enabled me to derive immense benefit from their wise counsel.



This incident was in 1964 when I was working in Hyderabad city as Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Law and Order, Saifabad Division. The jurisdiction of the ACP in those days extended from Sanathnagar industrial area to Golconda Fort, which now is under the command of a Deputy Commissioner of Police.

One day I was fully engaged in the Police Control Room deploying a large force all over the twin cities to maintain law and order for a massive rally organized by the Opposition Leaders, headed by Puchala palli Sunderayya. That night around 1 AM the then Commissioner of Police arrived at the Police Control Room, where I along with three other Asst Commissioners of police received and briefed him. The Commissioner of police for the reasons not known to me, with an air of incredulity in the presence of other officers, started shouting at me by name and designation and deliberately ill-treated me. He happened to be in such a condition then that he was not able to manage himself and therefore I withdrew to avoid further unpleasant developments, particularly because we were all in uniform.

I felt that I would not be able to continue in the department further and decided to tender resignation. I went to Mr. Kona Ramchandra Reddy who was then Deputy Commissioner of Police and narrated the incident. He advised me that conducting oneself with dignity and decency is an imperative necessity irrespective of rank, but tendering resignation would mean nothing but cowardice, and I should settle the matter, and then leave the department.

I then gave a representation to the government. The then Second Secretary to Government, Mr. S.A. Iyyangar, ICS, personally enquired and held my representation to be true. My position was vindicated, on which the Government issued a written memo advising the Commissioner of police to treat his officers with "decency and dignity." Now I realize how valuable and sincere the advice was by a senior officer whose name has gone deep into the annals of Andhra Pradesh Police history as a man of courage, conviction, and forthright nature. This proves the motto, "Service Without Servility" That used to be the sprit of officers with good reputation and keen sense of duty. I am reminded of the saying of Shakespeare that "Good name in a man and a woman is the immaculate jewel of their noble soul." Such inspiring words of men of letters should serve as a beacon light to the serving police officers.


G. Raghava Reddy as



Investigation of conspiracy cases is a difficult and challenging task, basically because conspiracies are hatched in secrecy where direct evidence, relevant and admissible, would not be available.

I had the unique privilege of being the architect of the Nagi Reddy conspiracy case. It was a massive, voluminous, and complicated case of all-India importance and unparallel in the country, which redounds to the credit of the Andhra Pradesh Police. Without going into details, I quote the valuable observation made in the monograph on Interrogation by Mr. E.N. Purushottaman, a renowned intellectual police officer, which is published by the Andhra Pradesh Police Academy in 1988 under the able guidance of Mr. C. Anjaneya Reddy, founder Director of the AP Police Academy.

The Nagi Reddy conspiracy case has been acclaimed by India Today , a popular political weekly, as the most successful of all communist conspiracy cases conducted in India from the British days onwards. Many top-ranking Naxalites were interrogated, including Mr. Nagi Reddy himself, and some of them were won over through purely sympathetic approach. They were convinced of the futility of armed struggle in the political situation that prevailed in India. Far from any bitterness whatsoever, the trial was conducted in an incredibly friendly atmosphere, to the utter and most pleasant surprise of the judge himself. After conviction the Naxalites and the police officers parted as friends. The entire credit goes to G. Raghava Reddy, DSP CID, who led the investigation of this case. He retired as DIG. "This case will remain as a monumental proof of the success of friendly and sympathetic methods of Interrogation."

Handling such massive case of conspiracy, to secure irreversible conviction for highly committed intellectual political leaders and stand to the judicial test up to the Supreme Court was a challenging task. My experience is, to meet such situation, the investigating officer should have the following qualities, perhaps very rare.

	Perception
	Preparation
	Patience
	Persuasiveness
	Perseverance
	Presentation

A harmonious combination of these precepts, with utmost regard for human dignity and Truth would provide all the strength, courage, conviction, and professional skills of high order to do justice to the case. Of course, one should not forget the immortal saying of Aristotle that the source of injustice is the "equal treatment of un-equals and unequal treatment of equals."

Here comes the acumen of the investigating officer in meticulously sifting the evidence and assessing the Mensrea (Criminal intention) individual wise and fix up the criminal liability according to law. A Herculean task. But that is the requirement and is expected of the investigating officer.

I modestly say that to a great extent I could come up to this level of judicial test and professional competence. For this reason the specially constituted session court, which tried the case for more than one year, day by day, involving 65 top Naxelite leaders including Tarimala Nagi Reddy, paid compliments to me in the judgment, that my investigation was fair and without prejudice. The most satisfying and memorable fact is, in appeal the High Court while confirming the sentence also recorded their appreciation paying glowing tributes to me for masterly handling the massive case of conspiracy. On this, Sri. V.K. Rao, ICS, the then Chief Secretary to Govt. of AP communicated the appreciation of the State Govt. through a D.O. letter to me for the splendid work. I humbly say this was my unique achievement bringing laurels to police Dept of AP.

Following this sterling success, similar type of conspiracy cases were registered against top ranking Naxalite leaders of all-India importance in Parvatipuram conspiracy case, Secundrabad conspiracy case, and Ramnagr conspiracy case but all of them were acquitted either in the trial courts or in the High court in appeal.

In final analysis, Nagireddy conspiracy case is the only case which stood to the judicial test and ended in success. It has therefore been acclaimed by one and all as the most successful of all communist conspiracy cases conducted in India from British days onwards.

I cannot close the handling of this historic conspiracy case without paying tributes to late Sri M.V. Narayan Rao Director General of Police, a monumental figure who as the Head of State CID organization then, guided the investigation from the starting to the end with great attention, alacrity, and professional excellence of high order. Sri K. VijayaRama Rao as I.G. of police intelligence, an eminent police officer, played a vital and laudable role in steering this difficult and delicate task with great dexterity and proficiency.


are as follows:

Crime No: 57/69 of the central crime station, Hyderabad.

Date of Registration: 17-December-1969

Accused: Tarimala Nagi Reddy, Devula palli Venkateshwar Rao, Madala Narayana Swamy, Vajraveluchetty, KollipraPandurangarao, Chandrapullareddy, P.Ramnarsiah, Duppala Krishnamurthy, Challapalli Srinivas Rao, and 59 others (Total 67)



Trial: By Specially Constituted Sessions Court

Period of trial: One year two months day by day

No of witnesses examined: 325 from all over India

No of documents filed: 777

No of persons convicted: T. Nagi Reddy and 22 others

Sentence awarded: Four years rigorous imprisonment


Sections of law:

	CONVICTED U/S 121A IPC; CONSPIRACY TO WAGE WAR AGAINST THE STATE
	120/BIPC READ WITH 395 IPC; CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT DACOITIES
	120/BIPC READ WITH 447 IPC; CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT CRIMINAL TRESSPASS.
	Nagi Reddy after pronouncing the judgment in the trial court jumped bail, went under ground, and died a natural death while the other 22 accused convicted persons whose sentence was confirmed by the High Court served their four years term in the jail.

As chief investigating officer of this mammoth case involving 67 accused, 325 witnesses, 777 documents, I had to write the Case Diary that ran into 1200 typed pages, marshall relevant, admissible, and acceptable evidence, and determine the criminal liability of each of the 67 top level ideologically committed leaders as accused. I also had to secure the presence of 324 witnesses, safeguard their evidence including hobnobbing and unpredictable Approvers, and ensure consistency of evidence in each of the 28 murders, 150 dacoities, and other cognizable crimes connected to conspiracy. All this was done and gotten from all over the state, a Herculean task.

The last and 325 th witness was me as chief investigating officer. The enormity of work involved and arduous efforts gone in, in marshalling, sifting and methodically analyzing and putting the evidence in to legal fold and presenting the case on proper lines requires, no elucidation. The evidence was presented in 10 Printed volumes each containing 100 pages.

Well, the extent of excruciating stress and strain on me can hardly be expressed. The marathon work coupled with conscientious and continuous effort in an endeavour to exhibit highest standards of professional competence, landed me in Railway Hospital Madras for by pass surgery, which went well because of gracious help, encouragement and support of my revered colleague and a venerable friend and above all an outstanding police officer Sri. C. Anjaneya Reddy. In my case he proved the adage that "a friend in need, is a friend indeed." He is now the Chairman of A.P. Tourism Development Corporation.

Throughout my handling of this unique case of rare type and quality, I had the support and encouragement from a role model police officer Sri. A. Venkat Rao who retired as IG of police from Lokayukta. I owe a great deal of gratitude to this ideal and highly respected police officer of exemplary character.

Sri. Anjaneya Reddy and Sri. M.V. Krishna Rao as Directors of AP Police Academy persuaded me to write my experiences in handling cases of conspiracy, laying particular emphasis on marshalling evidence and clearly laying down broad guidelines for the use of investigating officers. Because of my undergoing two bypass surgeries and suffering from stomach cancer and due to demise of my wife, I could not take up this work.

I have now put forth some of my humble experiences. I do not know how useful they would be, but I have done my duty as a retired police officer and a responsible senior citizen.

I close my narration by quoting: "All is well, that ends well"