State ACB chief Mr. Umesh Kumar's name has surfaced in a forgery case that was designed to indict the DGP Mr. Dinesh Kumar Reddy. A case of foregery was filed against T Sunil Reddy, Sri City SEZ consultant and former journalist for fabricating a letter in the name of Rajya Sabha member M A Khan with an intention to stymie the chances of Dinesh Reddy's appointment as DGP.

It was earlier reported in a section of the media that Sunil had confessed to have obtained the certified copies of registered sale deeds of properties belonging to the director-general of police, Mr V. Dinesh Reddy, at the instance of Mr Umesh Kumar and had handed over the same to a person sent by the latter. The director-general of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, Mr Umesh Kumar, on Monday called on the Chief Minister, Mr N. Kiran Kumar Reddy. The meeting assumes significance in the backdrop of his name being surfaced in the case.

Though the ACB top cop is tight-lipped about the meeting, sources told that he feigned ignorance about the activities of Sunil and explained to the Chief Minister that his name was not mentioned in the remand case diary. Sources said the Chief Minister was briefed by the senior police official about the rivalry among the top cops. Mr Umesh Kumar also sought to project that the case was to settle old scores, sources added. Mr Umesh Kumar was in race for the DGP post twice. While, the government preferred Mr K. Aravind Rao over him the first time around, Mr Dinesh Reddy was chosen the second time.

According to the sources, Mr Umesh Kumar apprised the Chief Minister of the rivalry between him and the DGP, Mr Dinesh Reddy, seeking to project that the case was fabricated to settle old scores. On the other hand, the officers close to Mr Dinesh Reddy dismissed the allegations of witch hunting. "The sequence of events clearly indicates that the forgery of the signature of the Rajya Sabha MP, Mr M.A. Khan, was exposed much before Mr Dinesh Reddy became the DGP," a senior officer pointed out. It was Mr Khan who asked the state government to probe into the forgery of his signature, he added.