YSRCP MLA, who smashed EVM, gets bail in 3 fresh cases

The MLA was granted bail on Thursday in a case pertaining to toppling of an electronic voting machine inside a polling booth on May 13

The Andhra Pradesh high court on Tuesday granted anticipatory bail to YSR Congress Party lawmaker Pinnelli Ramakrishna Reddy from Macherla assembly constituency in Palnadu district in three more cases filed against him by police, people familiar with the matter said.

YSRCP MLA, who smashed EVM, gets bail in 3 fresh cases

The MLA was granted bail on Thursday in a case pertaining to toppling of an electronic voting machine inside a polling booth on May 13.

Justice Venkata Jyothirmayi passed interim orders, directing police not to take any action against the MLA till 10 am on June 5, a day after the declaration of results for the assembly and Lok Sabha elections in the state.

She asked Reddy not to intimidate opponents and threaten witnesses. She directed him to stay in district headquarters of Narsaraopet and not to enter Macherla town till June 6, when the model code of conduct comes to an end. The judge asked him to appear before the superintendent of police at Narasraopet everyday till June 6.

The court, however, permitted him to go to the counting station on June 4. It asked him not to speak to the media about the cases and said police and the Election Commission should keep a watch on the movements of the MLA.

On Monday, Ramakrishna Reddy filed a fresh petition in the high court seeking anticipatory bail in the wake of the police filing three separate cases against him, though he got relief from the court in the EVM case. The MLA alleged police were trying to implicate him one case or the other so that he would be in jail at the time of counting of votes on June 4.

Police filed three more cases against Ramakrishna Reddy on Saturday following fresh complaints. A Telugu Desam Party worker, Namburi Seshagiri Rao, filed a complaint alleging that he was attacked by the MLA when he was trying to prevent the latter from damaging the EVM at Palwaigate polling station on May 13. Rentachintala police booked a case under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code against the MLA.

Police also booked another case against Ramakrishna Reddy under sections 506 (criminal intimidation) and 509 (insulting a woman’s modesty by abusing) of the IPC, besides Section 131 of Representation of People’s Act, based on a complaint from another woman, Cherukuri Nagamani, in the same incident.

Karampudi police also booked a case against the MLA under section 307 of the IPC for attacking and injuring local inspector of police T P Narayana Swamy.