The police had on May 20 registered a criminal case against Pinnelli Ramakrishna Reddy, the incumbent ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) legislator from Macherla and contestant from the same Assembly constituency, under IPC Sections 143, 147, 448, 427, 353, 452 and 120 (B), Sections 131 and 135 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property (PDPP) Act, 1984, Andhra Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Mukesh Kumar Meena said on May 22 (Wednesday).
“The police had listed the MLA as A1 in the case relating to damaging the EVM and VVPAT machines at Polling Station No. 202 in the Assembly constituency on May 13, when polling was in progress,” Mr. Meena told The Hindu.
“He was made prime accused in the case after the State government, under instructions from the Election Commission of India (ECI), constituted the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to inquire into the poll-related violence,” he said.
Out of the nine polling stations where EVMs and VVPAT machines were damaged, seven were in Macherla, and one each in Sattenapalli (No. 170) and Rajampeta (No. 192). The seven polling station in Macherla were 202, 203, 204, 205, 207, 2015 and 251.
YSRCP Macherla MLA Pinnelli Ramakrishna Reddy. | Photo Credit: File Photo
“The Election Commission of India has directed the arrest of the accused MLA in the EVM machine damage incident, in which video evidence is available. Based on the instructions, the Director General of Police is ordered to arrest the accused MLA,” Mr. Meena said.
“The police went to Hyderabad on May 21 (Tuesday) night itself and raided the house of the accused there, but he was not there. The police are also trying to locate him by using his mobile number, but he turned off his mobile. Still, the police are searching for the accused through their own methods. The DGP informed that they would arrest the accused very shortly,” the CEO said.
In fact, Ramakrishna Reddy had allegedly absconded from Macherla while he was under house arrest, and was reportedly staying in Hyderabad since then. Hence, the A.P. police conducted search operations in Hyderabad with the help of their Telangana counterparts.
Why delay in booking case?
Mr. Meena said that Ramakrishna Reddy’s name was not included in the accused list in the initial First Information Report (FIR) filed by the Station House Officer concerned.
“Though the incident had happened on May 13, the police booked Ramakrishna Reddy only on May 20 as the Investigation Officer was transferred after the poll violence,” Mr. Meena reasoned.
Mr. Meena said that apart from this particular case, the other cases were also under investigation. Some of the accused persons were arrested and investigation was in progress. “All cases related to violence on polling day and its aftermath are under investigation, and it will be difficult to reveal their details,” he said.
