A day after the Andhra Pradesh high court dismissed the petitions of around 14 YSR Congress party leaders seeking anticipatory bail in connection with the vandalism at Telugu Desam Party head office at Mangalagiri and chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s Undavalli residence during Jagan regime, key leaders among them went into hiding on Thursday.
The police arrested former Bapatla MP Nandigam Suresh and YSRCP Vijayawada unit chief Avuthu Srinivas Reddy after midnight.
They are now being questioned at Mangalagiri police station and are likely to be produced before the magistrate court later in the day and sent to judicial remand.
However, former minister Jogi Ramesh, who led the YSRCP leaders and cadre to attack the residence of Naidu at Undavalli in 2020, went missing. He could not be reached on his mobile phone, which was switched off and his house was found locked.
Same is the case with YSRCP MLC Lella Appi Reddy, former MLA Devineni Avinash and YSRCP organising secretary Talasila Raghuram, who were allegedly involved in the attack on the TDP head office at Mangalagiri. They, too, went absconding.
Another YSRCP leader and party’s state youth wing president Panuganti Chaitanya also went underground. The police have formed special teams to launch a manhunt for these leaders.
Sources said the absconding YSRCP leaders are planning to file a review petition in the court or move the Supreme Court seeking bail. Till such time, they will remain underground, sources said.