Telangana's former DGP Mahender Reddy to head TSPSC

Hyderabad, Jan 25 (IANS) The Government of Telangana on Thursday appointed former Director General of Police (DGP) M Mahender Reddy as Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) Chairman.

Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan on Thursday approved M Mahender Reddy’s appointment.

The former police chief’s appointment is part of the efforts of the new government to restructure TSPSC, which was rocked by question paper leaks, resulting in frequent postponement and cancellations of recruitment exams last year.

This had triggered massive protests by the candidates and unemployed youth.

Mahender Reddy will succeed former IAS officer, B Janardhan Reddy, who resigned last month after the Congress party came to power.

Mahender Reddy, an IPS officer of the 1986 batch, was appointed DGP in November 2017. He retired in December 2022.

On January 10, the Governor had accepted the resignations of Janardhan Reddy and three members.

Following criticism in some quarters over the delay in accepting the resignations, the Raj Bhavan had clarified that the resignations were forwarded to the state government for circulation of file, along with the remarks and the opinion of the Advocate General, through the Chief Minister after ensuring a thorough examination of the matter.

This was done in view of the ongoing investigation by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).

On January 12, the state government had invited applications from eligible candidates for the appointment of Chairman and members of TSPSC. More than 50 applications were received for the post of the Chairman.

The government, however, picked Mahender Reddy for the top post and sent a recommendation to the Governor, who accepted the same.

More than 100 accused including some employees of the TSPSC were arrested in the question paper leak case.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy had assured unemployed youth last month that once the new board is in place, the process to issue job notifications and conduct the exams will begin.

He stated that the Congress government is committed to fill two lakh vacancies in government departments by December 9, 2024.