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| ACP P Radhakishan |
Congress leader Yamjala Sridhar Reddy, who committed suicide on
Saturday, had reportedly approached the Uppal police a week ago and
complained that a police official was harassing him by demanding bribe
in connection with a murder case. However, Uppal inspector Laxmikanth
Reddy had asked him to give the complaint in writing, which Reddy chose
not to give. The official in question, Assistant Commissioner of
Police (ACP), Malkajgiri, P Radhakishan Rao, however, denied driving
Sridhar to suicide. In his suicide note, Sridhar Reddy had accused the
ACP of demanding a bribe of `10 lakh in connection with two cases. One
of Congress leader M Jagadishswar Reddy’s murder and the other of an
attempted murder against the slain man’s brother Parameswar Reddy.
Sridhar was the main accused in both cases. Speaking to Express,
ACP P Radhakishan Rao termed the bribery allegations baseless. He said
he had met Sridhar twice, once when the Congress leader was arrested on
June 12 and earlier, when he was an inspector of Special Branch when he
arrested Sridhar with six others for their alleged involvement in the
murder case of Jagadishwar Reddy. With the trial in Jagadishwar Reddy’s
murder case beginning on July 8 in a local court, the victim might have
feared judicial examination as the police submitted evidence to the
court, the ACP said. “If I had demanded bribe or threatened him,
why did he fail to bring the issue to the notice of my higher ups? The
police also arrested him this month and produced him before the court.
Why did he not tell the magistrate if I harassed him or demanded bribe?”
the ACP wondered, adding that Sridhar might have nursed a grudge
against him after he submitted strong evidence in Jagadishwar Reddy’s
murder case. “Even as police registered cases against me in
connection with the victim’s suicide, the probe team will look into the
issue and bring out the facts,” he said. ACP Radhakishan was the
Investigation officer of Jagadishwar Reddy’s murder case when he was
inspector, Special branch, Cyberabad. He investigated the murder case
and submitted charge-sheet to the court in 2007. When S Prabhakar
Reddy was Police Commissioner, he handed over the case to Mutyam Reddy.
As serious allegations against Mutyam Reddy poured in, the Police
Commissioner appointed Radhakishan as investigation officer who finished
the probe in two months. Meanwhile, the Special Operation Team
(SOT) has taken over the case and K Dronacharyulu, Assistant
Commissioner of Police (ACP), Counter-Intelligence Cell (CIC), Cyberabad
would start the investigation questioning the family members of the
victim and police officials on Monday.
Flashback
May 23,
2007: The accused who came on a bike chased the vehicle of Ranga Reddy
district Congress leader M Jagadishwar Reddy, 38, and stabbed him to
death in Uppal. The victim was returning to his house in Uppal from
Ramanthapur in a car when two unidentified persons riding a bike came
from behind and stopped the vehicle. Soon after the victim got down, the
duo stabbed him. The victim’s family members, in their complaint to the
police, accused Sridhar Reddy and his followers of master-minding the
murder. June 2, 2007: The Cyberabad police arrested six persons
who killed Jagadishwar Reddy. Y Sridhar Reddy of Uppal, also a Congress
leader, is alleged to have hired the youngsters for killing Jagadishwar
as he feared political threat from the latter. He also allegedly paid
`4.5 lakh for the contract killing.
Mouli Mareedu
moulimareedu@gmail.com
