Kollam Gangireddy, accused in 26 criminal cases, including red sanders smuggling, physical assault, murder, rape and association with Maoists, was granted bail in all cases on Tuesday.
Gangireddy’s name prominently figured in several red sanders cases in Chittoor, Kadapa, Kurnool and Nellore districts.
When the TDP came to power in 2014, former Chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu approached the Governor, and accused Gangireddy of being a key conspirator in the Alipiri bomb blast case.
However, Gangireddy escaped from the country. After a year-long pursuit by the CID, the Interpol took him into custody in Mauritius in March 2015. He was brought to Hyderabad and subsequently shifted to Kadapa where he was lodged in the Central Jail.
The police, during Mr. Naidu’s regime, had invoked the Preventive Detention Act (PD Act) on Gangireddy, the term of which ended recently. A senior police officer in Kadapa, responsible for major operations against red sanders smuggling, told The Hindu that Gangireddy could obtain bail because of the apex court ruling early this year that though an accused is under custody in any particular case, it is deemed that he is under custody in all other cases.
Buzz in official circles
Following this, bail was granted simultaneously by different courts.
“Several other accused in red sanders cases and other serious ones had applied for bail six months ago, and had even obtained the same,” the official said.
Gangireddy’s obtaining bail has created a buzz in forest, police and task force circles in Kadapa and Chittoor districts, which are considered a hotbed of red sanders smuggling.
