RIGHT MOVES: The Assistant Commissioner of Police, Sultan Bazar, Ch. Ramachander (left) and Saifabad ACP, Umamaheswara Rao (behind) at the Andhra Pradesh State Human Rights Committee in Hyderabad on Monday. — PHOTO: P.V. SIVAKUMAR

ANANTAPUR: : The Additional Judicial First Class Magistrate's Court here on Monday ordered revolutionary Writers Association leaders P. Varavara Rao and G. Kalyan Rao to judicial custody till September 5.

The two were produced in the court after being brought here in a case pertaining to September 2004 on an attack on police constable Shaikshahvali. The incident occurred at a Maoist commemorative meeting held at Madigubba village in Atmakur mandal on September 22. The duo was kept in II Town police station after they were brought from Hyderabad in the wee hours.

A case was registered against 15 persons and "several others" of four villages on the same day under sections 307, 147, 148, 149 and others of the IPC. Though the police have not filed the chargesheet so far, 21 persons arrested in the case have been released on bail.

Mediapersons were kept at bay by the police at the police station and on the court premises. Lensmen and videographers were not even allowed to take the photographs of the Virasam leaders.

The lensmen were allowed to take snaps after they staged a brief protest against the police action.

The area was sanitised with a dog squad and explosive detection gadgets. Even the persons entering the courts complex were checked before allowing them in.

The two leaders personally argued their cases before judge A. Jayaraj. They pleaded before the judge that they had neither instigated nor participated in the attack on the constable.

"As we watched a person being roughed by a group at the commemorative meeting we rushed down the dais and saved him," they said. "Punish us if the IPC has any provision of punishment for saving a life," they told the judge.

As responsible writers in society, they said they had every right to speak facts and they were doing the same during the peace talks with Maoists.

Case is `illegal'

The police foisted the Madigubba case against them as they have been speaking in support of Maoist movement, they noted. The case registered against them is illegal.

Speaking on the ban imposed against the CPI(Maoist), naxalite parties and their frontal organisations, the leaders urged the court to ban the Congress and the TDP as they, too, resort to mindless violence every time they come to power.

On their request that they were required to attend another case in Hyderabad, the judge ordered their immediate transportation to the State capital. Accordingly, they were taken away to Hyderabad in the afternoon.

Earlier, with court permission, they had a half an hour meeting with APCLC leaders S. Seshaiah and R. Harinatha Reddy and Virasam leader Shashikala. However, the court turned down their plea for speaking to the media stating that the subject was not in its jurisdiction.

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