: Police acted in haste in arresting on Saturday industrialist Koganti Satyanarayana (alias Satyam) by bowing to the pressure of Telugu Desam MLA Bonda Umamaheswara Rao, according to a roundtable in which several political parties, lawyers, human rights activists and people from different walks of life took part here on Tuesday.
Senior lawyer Sunkara Rajendra Prasad said the police did not verify the complaint (of breach of trust, extortion, etc. by a samiti member P. Rakesh) made against Mr. Satyam properly and arrested him by foisting harsh Sections like 409 and 307.
“The Telugu Desam MLA was jealous of the popularity of Mr. Satyam who was instrumental in installing the 72-foot-high Ganesh idol at the Government Music College. All of a sudden, he scrapped the Doondi Ganesh Seva Samithi and formed his own board to hog the limelight.”
He alleged that Mr. Umamaheswara Rao engineered the arrest of Mr. Satyam by using Rakesh as a pawn. Mr. Prasad said that politicians should keep away from religious activities as they represent all sections of people.
He said soon after the bifurcation of the State, the Samithi was formed to install a Ganesh idol on a par with the famous Khairatabad one in Hyderabad. “The 63-ft idol was a huge success last year and many lauded the efforts of Mr. Satyam. This year, his team took the initiative to install a bigger one. The MLA scrapped the original team and formed his own with the help of senior leaders in his party. Even the police are helping him, which is unfortunate,” he added.
He also objected to the harsh language used by the legislator and demanded the immediate release of Mr. Satyam. “The image of the Police Commissioner has taken a beating with the arrest. Even bail was denied to Mr. Satyam.”
CPI(M) senior leader D. Kasinath said when as a legislator Mr. Umamaheswara Rao had many important duties to perform as people’s representative, he entered a religious outfit for selfish gain.
CPI city secretary Donepudi Sankar said that the interference of politicians in sports was the main reason for India getting just two medals. He alleged the hand of Home Minister N. Chinarajappa in the episode.
BJP spokesman U. Raju said people would take to the streets if justice was not done to Mr. Satyam.
Representatives of the Congress, the YSR Congress, Aam Aadmi Party and the Bezwada Bar Association were present.
