From a village in Telangana’s Karimnagar district to the courtroom prosecutions of Al-Qaeda and ISIS, Saritha Komatireddy has taken a long road into American public life.Now the Republican Party’s nominee for New York attorney general and a candidate endorsed by US President Donald Trump, Komatireddy has promised to crack down on crime, retail theft and fraud. For the Indian-origin candidate, the campaign is also an opportunity to represent a community whose roots she shares.In an exclusive interaction with India Today, Komatireddy spoke about the experiences that brought her here, from her years as a federal prosecutor to her stint as chief of staff at the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

She said concerns about public safety had pushed her into the race, arguing that crime, homelessness and fraud were making life harder for New Yorkers already grappling with an affordability crisis.“In the middle of an affordability crisis, crime is making life harder,” she said. The attorney general, she argued, should focus on prosecuting crime and fraud, recovering money from offenders and returning it to taxpayers.FROM PROSECUTING AL-QAEDA AND ISIS TO RUNNING FOR NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERALKomatireddy’s decision to enter public service was shaped, in part, by the September 11 attacks.

After graduating from Harvard College and Harvard Law School, she returned to New York and began working as a federal prosecutor. The attacks, she said, made her want to take on terrorism cases. “I wanted to do something to make sure the attacks of 9/11 did not happen again,” she told India Today. “After 9/11, I thought, ‘Let me be a terrorism prosecutor.

I can fight terrorism in the courtroom.’”She went on to prosecute leaders of Al-Qaeda and leaders and members of ISIS, including people aspiring to join the terror group.Her work later took her into international narcotics and money laundering cases. She was asked to lead efforts targeting cartels bringing fentanyl and other deadly drugs into the US.Among the cases she cited was the prosecution of Sinaloa Cartel leaders and Mexican government officials who took bribes from El Chapo and the cartel, helping it expand its operations.That work eventually led to her appointment as chief of staff at the DEA under President Joe Biden.

She held the position for a year. Looking back on a career spanning around 12 years, Komatireddy described public service and public safety as its defining themes.She now wants to bring that experience to the New York attorney general’s office.

Her argument is straightforward: the office should concentrate on crime and fraud, hold repeat offenders accountable and make residents feel safer.FIRST DESI STATEWIDE CANDIDATEFor all the focus on law enforcement, Komatireddy’s story begins with her family’s decision to leave India.Born in Brooklyn to parents who came from Telangana, she said her mother grew up in Hyderabad while her father was from Chegonn, a village in Karimnagar district. The family still visits the village.

She wants her children to know where their grandparents came from and what it took for them to build a life in the US.Her parents, she said, moved in search of opportunity and the chance to work hard and achieve their dreams. At home, the family held on to Indian traditions.

She also travelled to India with her grandmother to meet relatives, experiences she credits with keeping her connected to her roots.The values she took from that upbringing -- studying hard, working hard and giving back -- are ones she says continue to guide her.Komatireddy described herself as the first Desi statewide candidate in New York history. She said members of the Indian and South Asian communities had approached her to express pride in her candidacy, and that she hoped to earn their support.But she is also keen to present her campaign as one that reaches beyond the diaspora.

Public safety, she said, should not be divided along racial, religious or party lines.She has slammed her opponent and incumbent Attorney General Letitia James, accusing her of being more interested in national political prominence than in the everyday work of the office. Komatireddy said her own priority would be fighting crime and fraud.She also addressed how she would work with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani if elected.

She said she was willing to work with anyone focused on keeping residents safe, but stressed that the attorney general is independently elected.There would be disagreements, she acknowledged, but she said she would not shy away from exercising the office’s powers.“I don’t need anyone’s permission to be attorney general,” she said.- Ends