IPS Officer Challenges Naidu Government Over SC Certificate

IPS officer P V Sunil Kumar, suspended since March 2025, challenged Naidu government to cancel his SC certificate. He questioned if caste disappears after conversion, citing Christian practices. Facing criminal proceedings, he argued discrimination continues regardless of conversion. He appealed to Dalits to support parties recognizing Dalit Christians, claiming the movement would continue. The controversy follows a Supreme Court judgment in Bapatla district, which cancelled a pastor's SC certificate after conversion to Christianity. Suspended senior IPS officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre and former CID chief P V Sunil Kumar on Tuesday challenged the state government headed by… Suspended senior IPS officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre and former CID chief P V Sunil Kumar on Tuesday challenged the state government headed by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to cancel his Scheduled Caste certificate. Amid an ongoing debate over the status of Dalit Christians and caste reservations after religious conversion, Sunil Kumar said at a gathering in Bhimavaram on Monday that if officials had the courage, they should cancel his SC certificate. The 1993-batch IPS officer was initially placed under suspension on March 2, 2025, over allegations of undertaking multiple foreign visits without prior government permission and deviating from approved travel plans. The suspension was subsequently confirmed by the Ministry of Home Affairs. The officer is also facing criminal and departmental proceedings. The Anti-Corruption Bureau conducted a regular inquiry into allegations that Agrigold relief funds were misused during his tenure as CID chief. In February this year, the state government extended Sunil Kumar’s suspension until June 30, 2026, the date of his superannuation, or until the completion of ongoing criminal proceedings. With less than a month left for his retirement, Sunil Kumar is now throwing challenges at the Naidu government. “I performed my father’s last rites according to Christian traditions. I say Hallelujah openly. Is being a Christian a crime? Is looting banks a crime?” he asked, making an indirect reference to Assembly Deputy Speaker K Raghu Ramakrishnam Raju. Sunil Kumar stated that merely visiting a church or keeping a Bible and photographs of Jesus Christ at home does not make a person a Christian. According to him, only those who have undergone baptism can be considered Christians. The senior IPS officer urged the Andhra Pradesh government to implement the directions issued by the High Court on the issue. He alleged that despite the High Court’s observations, authorities were not taking the matter seriously. Sunil Kumar also said that during his tenure as CID chief, charge sheets were filed in nearly 4,000 atrocity cases. Questioning the rationale behind denying caste identity after conversion, he asked, “Does caste disappear if religion changes? Does caste discrimination end after conversion?” He appealed to Dalits to support only those political parties and leaders in the next elections who recognise Dalit Christians. He asserted that the movement on this issue would continue in the coming days and claimed that the Christian community in the state was living in fear and needed to come out of