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Chandrababu Naidu booked for attempt to murder
The FIR was registered at Mudivedu police station, after a complaint was lodged by local YSRCP leader D R Umapathy Reddy, late on Tuesday night.
Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu was booked in an attempt-to-murder case by the police for allegedly instigating violence against the YSR Congress party (YSRCP) leaders and workers in Annamayya district on August 4, a senior police official said on Wednesday.
District superintendent of police (SP) R Gangadhara Rao told reporters that Naidu had instigated the TDP workers to attack the YSRCP activists with lethal weapons at Angallu village of Tamballapalli assembly constituency during his tour to the area as part of his “Project Yudha Bheri” rally.
“Several YSRC workers and some policemen were injured in the attack. The violent attacks took place in a pre-planned manner. Based on the complaint given by the victims, a case was registered against Naidu and 19 others,” the SP said.
The FIR was registered at Mudivedu police station, after a complaint was lodged by local YSRCP leader D R Umapathy Reddy, late on Tuesday night.
The police booked Naidu and others under various sections of Indian Penal Code including Sections 120b (criminal conspiracy), 147 (rioting), 148 (attacks with deadly weapons), 153 (provocative speech with an intent to cause riots), 307 (attempt to murder), 115 (abetment to offence), 109 (abetment of offence against public servant), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (using lethal weapons), 506 r/w 149 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
While Naidu was named as accused No. 1 (A-1), former irrigation minister Devineni Uma was named A-2. Besides, other TDP leaders including Amaranadha Reddy, Rambhopal Reddy, Shajahan Basha, Dommalapati Ramesh and N Kishore Kumar Reddy were also named as the accused.
According to the FIR, a copy of which was seen by HT, Naidu had provoked his party leaders and cadre to attack Umapathy Reddy, when the latter came to him to show a representation in protest against the TDP moving the state high court to stall the construction of Pitchalavandlapalle irrigation project by making baseless allegations.
Sub-inspector of police Sheik Mujeeb Taj, who registered the FIR, said Naidu had used abusive language against Umapathy Reddy and asked his party workers to chase the YSRCP leader and his followers away and attack them.
“All the TDP leaders criminally conspired together and instigated the TDP activists to chase away the YSRCP workers,” the FIR said.
It further said the TDP workers, armed with deadly weapons, suddenly attacked Umapathy Reddy and others with intent to kill them. When he tried to run away, the TDP workers chased them from behind and caused bleeding injuries and contusions. “During that attack, some of the police officials were injured,” the FIR said.
The public of Angallu Village intervened and rescued Reddy from the hands of the accused, as otherwise they might have brutally killed him, the FIR added.
Expressing surprise at the police filing an attempt-to-murder case filed against him, the TDP president said in fact, the YSRC leaders attempted to murder him at Angallu village, but he managed to escape after the National Security Guards protected him.
Stating that the police had information well in advance about the YSRC workers indulging violence at his meeting, Naidu wondered why the police had failed to prevent the YSRC workers assembling there in big numbers and were attacking his rally. “Let the government order a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the incident to find out who was behind the attack on my rally,” he demanded.
Former minister Devineni Umamaheshwar Rao, who was named as A-2 in the case, said the police had been foisting false cases against the TDP leaders. “If the incident happened on August 4, why did the police take four days to register the FIR?” he asked.
