In the wake of growing acts of terror and reports of ISI sleeper cells in the state, especially in Hyderabad, the Andhra Pradesh government formed the OCTOPUS or the Organisation to Counter Terrorist Operations in October last year. Five months down the line, far from spreading its tentacles, Octopus is itself caught in bureaucratic wrangles and one-upmanship between the state’s two top police officers, without mounting even one major operation.

While DGP S S P Yadav, as head of the state police, wants to keep Octopus under his control, A K Mohanty, also a Director General-rank officer who heads Octopus, wants it to be

independent and under his control.

With the two officers shooting off letters to the Home Department, issuing memos and initiating departmental inquiries in their battle to gain control, Chief Minister Y S R Reddy recently stepped in and asked the Home Department to sort out the mess.

Things came to a head last week when Yadav issued a memo to Mohanty for not informing him about his three-day visit to New Delhi in the last week of February. This prompted Mohanty to shoot off a letter to the Home Department requesting it to get Yadav off his back.

Principal Secretary (Home) P V Naidu has called Yadav and Mohanty for a meeting this week to iron out the matter. While Home Department officials confirmed this, DGP Yadav refused to be drawn into a discussion on the issue.

Mohanty, who has reportedly asked the Home Department that the original order on formation of Octopus be amended to make it independent of the state DGP, was more forthcoming. “Everyone knows what is happening around here. I don’t want to be dragged into a discussion on this. The Principal Secretary (Home) knows everything about this,” he told The Indian Express.

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