Macherla YSRCP incumbent MLA Pinnelli Ramakrishna Reddy and his brother Venkatarami Reddy who have been on the run after video of them destroying an EVM machine at a polling booth went viral, were arrested in a joint operation of AP and Telangana police near Sangareddy on Wednesday, May 22,
On receiving credible information about Reddy travelling towards Sangareddy, a special task force team from AP and Telangana special task force were on his hunt.
As the police chased Reddy’s convoy, he managed to escape in another car, only to be arrested a little while later from a company’s guest house near Isnapur. His brother Pinnelli Venkatarami Reddy was also arrested along with him.
After the video of the MLA went viral, a case was filed against him on May 20. He has been charged under Sections 143, 147, 448, 427, 353, 452 and 120 (B) of the Indian Penal Code, Sections 131 and 135 of the Representation of People’s Act, and also as per the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.
On Wednesday, another video of the MLA surfaced online, where he could be seen threatening a woman and abusing her.
He, along with his brother has also been accused of attacking Manjula, a relative, who had joined TDP and was sitting in the polling booth as a TDP agent, when they raided that polling on election day. Violent incidents in Macherla and Karampudi have been attributed to Ramakrishna Reddy and his brother.
Taking the issue seriously, the Election Commission of India had sought report from Andhra Pradesh chief electoral officer Mukesh Kumar Meena, and had ordered the AP police to arrest the MLA.