YSRC MLA Kapu arrested twice in one day

ANANTAPUR: The arrest episode of Rayadurgam YSRC MLA Kapu Ramachandra Reddy took interesting turns from Friday morning to evening.

The MLA, who was first arrested by the Rayadurgam police on Friday morning, got bail in the court by evening. However, the Bellary police who are waiting outside the court, detained the MLA immediately after his release and took him away to Bellary.

Going into the details, Bellary police registered a case against Reddy charging that the the politician had transported wall clocks, cricket kits, sarees, pressure cookers and also seven foreign liquor bottles for bribing voters in the municipal and general elections.

After seizing 680 wall clocks containing the photographs of the YSRC chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and the MLA along with the party symbol (ceiling fan) in side the clock, 23 cricket bats, 1,000 sarees, about 20 cookers and bank cheques to a tune of Rs 43 lakh, while they were being transported to Bellary from Bangalore, Bellary police raided the residence of the MLA at Bellary.

Later, based on the information by Bellary assistant commissioner Anirudh, Rayadurgam police arrested the MLA on Friday morning and interrogated him. Trainee SP Swetha, DSP Venugopala and CI C Bhaskar Reddy took part in the inquiry.

Police also detained the MLA's personal assistant Siva along with two others in Bellary and also conducted raids on the MLA's house in Rayadurgam.

While the police framed charges against the sections related to violation of poll code, the MLA maintained that he purchased the material on December 30 only for distributing them as part of his annual social service programmes. However, in view of the election code of conduct, we have kept them away from Rayadurgam, he said.

Stating he has conducted social services in the past, he said he organised mass marriages programmes several times. Maintaining that there is no need for him to bribe voters, he said that some of his rivals are making it an issue unnecessarily.

After his arrest and inquiry, police produced him in Junior Civil Judge Court in Rayadurgam, which first remanded him till April 3. However, following an appeal from the MLA's advocate that as Reddy, who is contesting in election, has to take up campaigning, the judge Sivaprasad Yadav granted him bail.

However, the MLA was only freed for some minutes as the Bellary police who were waiting outside the court arrested the MLA and shifted him to Bellary.