PNS|Vijayawada
The Apex Court on Monday granted conditional bail to Anantha Udaya Bhaskar (Anantha Babu), YSRC MLC from Kakinada, in connection with the murder of his former car driver. Granting a conditional bail, the apex court directed the lower court to set the bail conditions for releasing Anantha Babu.
Anantha Babu was arrested on May 22 this year on the charges of murdering his former car driver V Subrahmanyam. Based on the complaint given by the family members of the victim, a case was registered against the MLC under the provisions of the SC, ST Prevention of Atrocities Act.
The victim’s mother filed a petition against granting bail to Anantha Babu. However, the Supreme Court refused to entertain the petition. She expressed the apprehensions that the MLC, an influential member of the society, could influence the witnesses in the case if released on bail. The Supreme Court adjourned the next hearing in the case till March 2023.
At the time of his arrest, it was speculated that Anantha Babu allegedly eliminated Subrahmanyam suspecting that the victim was keeping a tab on his ‘freewheeling lifestyle’ and tipping off his (MLC’s) wife about his alleged extra-marital activities. Anantha Babu even reportedly confessed to having killed Subrahmanyam during his interrogation by the police following his arrest.
The YSRCP MLC was learnt to have told the police that he took out Subrahmanyam in his car on the night of May 20, 2022 before mercilessly thrashing him inside the vehicle. After the driver fell unconscious, Anantha Babu reportedly took him to a local private hospital where Subrahmanyam was declared dead. To escape from the case, the MLC tried to portray it as an accidental death but the truth eventually came out during the police investigation. Anantha Babu felt that Subrahmanyam could prove risky for him as he was privy to all his secrets including those in business and his personal life.
