A bitter public feud has erupted on social media between Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly Deputy Speaker K Raghu Ramakrishna Raju and suspended Indian Police Service (IPS) officer P V Sunil Kumar, involving serious allegations of caste fraud, custodial torture, and a multi-crore bank scam.
Exchange of Barbs and Serious Allegations
The conflict, which played out publicly on platforms like X (formerly Twitter), saw both figures launching personal and professional attacks. Raju, who has previously accused Sunil Kumar of being responsible for his alleged custodial torture during the previous YSRCP government's tenure, initiated the latest round. He accused the suspended officer of violating All India Service (AIS) rules by making political comments at a public meeting. Demonstrating a formal approach to his accusations, Raju reportedly wrote a letter to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) urging it to initiate disciplinary action against Sunil Kumar.
Controversial WhatsApp Screenshot and Caste Claims
The dispute took a deeply personal and controversial turn when a screenshot of a purported WhatsApp conversation surfaced. In it, Raju is alleged to have attached a photograph of the tomb of Sunil Kumar's mother. He reportedly used the image to claim that while Sunil Kumar is a Christian, he had secured his government job under the Scheduled Caste (SC) reserved quota. As this post spread widely online, Sunil Kumar tagged it in his own social media post while mounting a fierce counterattack.
Defending his caste status, the suspended IPS officer asserted that his father was a Hindu and, according to settled law and tradition, he inherited his father's caste. He vehemently denied any wrongdoing in his service recruitment.
Allegations of Financial Fraud and Demand for Removal
Sunil Kumar escalated the conflict by moving beyond personal defenses to launch a serious allegation of financial misconduct against the Deputy Speaker. He annexed an intimidating notice issued by the State Bank of India (SBI) to the directors of Ind Bharath Power Gencom Limited, which classified the company's loan account as fraudulent. Directly labeling Raju and his family members as "frauds," Sunil Kumar declared that he could not be silenced by personal attacks.
He further demanded that Raju be removed from his post as Deputy Speaker to ensure a fair investigation into his own suspension. "If I was suspended for a fair investigation, Raju should also be removed from his post for equitable justice," he argued.
Invoking Supreme Court and Predicting Arrest
Citing a recent development in a related legal case, Sunil Kumar posted another video referencing a Supreme Court judgement that vacated a stay on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The FIR is part of the probe into the alleged Ind Bharath bank fraud case. In his video, Sunil Kumar stated that Raju would soon be arrested by the CBI in connection with the Rs 945 crore financial fraud case.
He concluded with a pointed remark, stating, "It will be a disgrace to the state of Andhra Pradesh and Brand Amaravati if Raju, the deputy speaker of Andhra Pradesh assembly, is arrested by the CBI in the bank fraud case." This very public and acrimonious clash between a senior political figure and a suspended police officer has brought issues of caste, corruption, and political vendetta into sharp focus in Andhra Pradesh's current political landscape.
