Southern States - Andhra Pradesh   

Congress MLA from Kadiam arrested

By Our Special Correspondent

RAJAHMUNDRY OCT. 14. The Congress MLA from Kadiam, Jakkampudi Ramamohana Rao, and 36 others, including eight corporators of the Rajahmundry Municipal Corporation, were arrested on charges under Sections 353 (preventing a public servant from discharging duty) and 341 (wrongful restraint) read with IPC 34, on the NH-5 in front of the Bommuru police station in the wee hours of today. They were produced in the court of Third Additional Judicial First Class Magistrate here.

As they had not applied for bail, the court remanded them to custody till October 28. Later, the MLA along with the city Congress president, Routhu Suryaprakasha Rao, and the AICC member, Jakkampudu Vijayalakshmi, were taken to the central prison here. On the way, supporters of Mr. Ramamohana Rao, who had gathered in strength, shouted slogans against the police and demanded action against the Bommuru Police Sub-Inspector and other police personnel responsible for the arrest and alleged ill- treatment of Veeramani (10) and her mother, Jayamma.

It was a case of theft which was made to snowball into a major incident. On a complaint of theft from a resident of Nathajinagar, in whose house Jayamma was a maid-servant, the Bommuru police questioned Jayamma and her daughter, Veeramani. The complaint of Jayamma was that they, especially 10-year-old Veeramani, were severely beaten up by the Sub-Inspector. However, the police asserted that the accused had confessed to the crime and they — Jayamma and Veeramani — were about to be taken to Vijayawada for recovery of the stolen property.

Meanwhile, the AICC member, Vijayalakshmi, came to know of the incident and she along with the city unit president of the party, Suryarakasha Rao, and others reached the Bommuru police station and organised a dharna demanding action against the SI. After a while Mr. Ramamohana Rao and Congress coprorators joined and organised rasta roko on NH-5, causing disruption of traffic. Senior police officers who had reached the spot agreed to register a case under the SC, STs Atrocities (Prevention) Act as demanded by the agitators, who were now demanding suspension of the SI. It was then that the MLA and others were arrested and taken to the police station.

Supporters of Mr. Rao, who was kept in the police station, came to express solidarity with their arrested leader. Speaking to newsmen at the police station, he charged the police with committing atrocities against Dalits and children.

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