Third officer moved out after Ballari banner clash; DSP Nanda Reddy transferred

Ballari: The state govt on Tuesday evening transferred Ballari City deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Chandrakanth Nanda Reddy, who had faced allegations related to the banner clash incident in the city. The transfer order does not mention his new posting. IPS officer Yash Kumar Sharma of the 2023 batch has been appointed to the vacant position.Following the banner-related clash that occurred on the night of Jan 1, Gangavathi MLA G Janardhana Reddy, former minister B Sriramulu, former MLA G Somashekara Reddy, and others levelled serious allegations against DSP Chandrakanth Nanda Reddy during multiple press conferences.They alleged that Nanda Reddy had brought city MLA Nara Bharat Reddy from the SP circle near Janardhana Reddy's residence and demanded his arrest. In connection with this, Janardhana Reddy filed a separate complaint with ASP Ravikumar. Objecting to police issuing only an acknowledgement instead of registering a case, he announced that he would file a private complaint in court.Similarly, former minister B Sriramulu repeatedly accused DSP Nanda Reddy and openly expressed his anger during a BJP protest meeting at the APMC premises in the city.Earlier, the govt had suspended SP Pawan Nezjur a day after the incident, and later transferred DIG Varthika Katiyar. With DSP Chandrakanth Nanda Reddy's transfer, three police officers have now faced action in connection with the Ballari banner clash.Sources said the latest transfer followed a report submitted by ADGP Hitendra, which stated that the local police administration had failed to control the situation during the clash. More officers are likely to face action based on the findings of the report.