Telangana Rashtra Samithi leader and former MLA of Manthani Putta Madhukar, who had been at large for the last one week, was finally arrested at Bhimavaram in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh on Saturday.
The Ramagundam police picked him up from an undisclosed place in Bhimavaram town and are shifting him to Peddapalli. The police, however, did not disclose in which case he was arrested.
Madhukar has been facing charges of masterminding the murder of advocate couple – Gattu Vamana Rao and Nagamani – in February this year. The police have already arrested his nephew and other accomplices in the murder case.
At the same time, they have also been investigating into the complaint given by Vaman Rao’s father suspecting the role of Madhukar. Apparently, the police gathered some concrete evidence to prove his role in the case.
It was only after a senior police officer leaked it to him, Madhukar went absconding, source said.
However, there is another version that the actual reason for targeting Madhukar is his close association with Eatala Rajender, who was sacked from the K Chandrasekhar Rao cabinet last week over charges of land encroachments.
It is learnt Madhukar had indulged in several land transactions in association with Eatala in Karimnagar and Peddapalli districts. In fact, he was considered to be a close follower of Eatala.
“All these days, the TRS leadership had been protecting Madhukar, which is why he has been able to avoid the interrogation in the advocate couple murder case. Now that Eatala has been under attack from the TRS government, obviously Madhukar has also gone out of the good books of the party leadership,” sources said.
After the Eatala episode, Madhukar made a desperate attempt to get out of the former’s shadow and prove that he was loyal only to chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
His wife Putta Sailaja told reporters that Madhukar had relations with Eatala only as part of the party activities.
“Otherwise, there are no personal equations between my husband and Eatala,” she said.
But the party leadership is said to be not convinced. Since Madhukar is also facing charges in the advocate murder couple case, it has got the opportunity to fix him in the case, sources added.