Former MLC and the Telugu Desam Party ‘s (TDP) Pulivendula constituency in-charge Mareddy Ravindranath Reddy, popularly known as B. Tech Ravi, was reportedly arrested by the police on Tuesday evening.
Though the police have remained tight-lipped on the arrest, Mr. Ravi is believed to have been picked up pertaining to a case filed in Vallur police station over his alleged high-handed behaviour with the police during the visit of TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh earlier this year as part of his Yuva Galam padayatra.
Mr. Ravi is set to contest the ensuing Assembly elections on a TDP ticket against Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy in Pulivendula. He has been actively touring the constituency ever since the party announced him as its candidate from Pulivendula.
Initially, Mr. Ravi was feared to have been frisked away by some unidentified men, causing tension among his family members and party leaders.
The arrest assumes political significance as it comes just three days after the visit of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy to the district. TDP district president R. Srinivasa Reddy dubbed the arrest as having been done with a malafide intention and added that the government would be taken to task for any violation of rules.
He was reportedly taken to the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Kadapa for medical examination ahead of the arrest. Meanwhile, attempts made by this correspondent to contact the Kadapa district Superintendent of Police Siddharth Kaushal proved futile.
TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh, in a statement, alleged that Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy was wary of contesting against Mr. Ravi from Pulivendula, which is why he was misusing police power to intimidate him.
