PNS|Vijayawada
In a dramatic turn of events, national president of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and former chief minister, N Chandrababu Naidu, was arrested in the early hours of Saturday in Nandyala town by the Andhra Pradesh CID police.
A large contingent of police officers, led by Anantapur DIG Raghurami Reddy, descended upon the RK Function Hall, where Naidu was resting inside his bus around 3 am. The police swiftly surrounded the bus and attempted to wake up Naidu from his sleep. A sizable group of TDP leaders and activists vehemently opposed the police action, demanding to see the arrest notice or relevant documents.
A fiery confrontation unfolded between the police, TDP leaders, including Kalva Srinivasulu, and TDP lawyers. They contended that Naidu was supposedly under the protection of the Special Protection Group (SPG) and questioned the legitimacy of his early-morning arrest.
Nevertheless, at approximately 6 a.m., Naidu disembarked from the bus, and the police informed him of his arrest. Naidu, in turn, requested to know the charges against him and insisted on seeing the arrest notice. The police assured Naidu that they would provide a copy of the First Information Report (FIR) at a later time.
Subsequently, the police handed over the FIR copy, indicating that the case had been registered under Cr.NO 29/2021, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 120(B), 166, 167, 418, 420, 465, 466, 471, 409, 201, 109, read with sections 34 and 37 of the IPC, as well as Sections 12, 13(2), and 13(1)(c) and (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988. Naidu was then transported to the AP CID headquarters for further interrogation.
Earlier, speaking to the media, Naidu staunchly maintained his innocence and proclaimed the triumph of justice. “I am fighting against the misrule of Jagan Mohan Reddy’s government. They seek to silence my voice. I appeal to all TDP members to exercise restraint,” he declared. Significantly, Naidu had hinted at his impending arrest during a speech at a meeting just three days prior.
Additionally, the AP CID police also apprehended former minister and TDP MLA Ganta Srinivasa Rao in Visakhapatnam on similar charges. As a precautionary measure, a substantial number of TDP leaders across the state were either placed under house arrest or detained by the police.
Upon learning of Naidu’s arrest, his son and TDP national general secretary, Nara Lokesh, who had been on a padayatra for the past four months, made an attempt to reach his father but was initially prevented by the police. Lokesh subsequently staged a protest by sitting on the road, which ultimately led to his being allowed to meet his father.
To mitigate potential unrest, the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) cancelled several bus services on vulnerable routes.
Tensions flared in Chilakaluripet, where a substantial police presence erected roadblocks on the national highway, hindering the procession escorting Naidu to Mangalagiri. At Naidu’s request, agitating TDP activists eventually yielded.
