Hyderabad (01.06.2024): Former intelligence chief of Andhra Pradesh AB Venkateshwara Rao (IPS: 1989: AP) was reinstated in the service on Friday, hours before his retirement. Chief secretary S Jawahar Reddy (IAS: 1990: AP) issued orders reinstating him in service and posted him as director general of police (DGP) in the department of printing and stationery following a direction from the Andhra Pradesh High Court on Thursday.

Rao had been under suspension since February 2020, except for a brief period of 11 days in June 2022, on the charges of procuring some security-related equipment like aerostat and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) from Israel during his tenure as the state intelligence chief between 2014 and 2019. Soon after receiving the posting orders, Rao took charge in the department of printing and stationery in Vijayawada around noon and laid down the office in the evening.