YSRCP MLA on the run

Vijayawada : The case pertaining to the destruction of EVMs in Palvai Gate polling station in Macherla constituency of Palnadu district allegedly by YSRCP MLA P Ramakrishna Reddy is taking several twists and turns. Has he been taken into custody from a private guest house in Isnapur village of Sangareddy district in the neighbouring Telangana or did he leave the country? These are the questions that are making rounds in the political circles as there has been no official statement in this regard from the police.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Mukesh Kumar Meena on Wednesday morning said the police teams have been formed to look for the 'absconding' YSRCP MLA, who vandalised the electronic voting machine (EVM) at a polling centre in Macharla constituency of Palnadu district.

The CEO said the police raided Reddy's residence on Wednesday morning, but he was not found there so several teams are now moving around to arrest him. While there were speculations in the afternoon that he was taken into custody, another news went viral saying that his car was found travelling on Hyderabad-Bengaluru highway but he was not in it.

Some said his chance of leaving the country was remote as he did not carry his passport with him. But then speculations were rife that he had left for Dubai by afternoon flight from Shamshabad International airport. It is being alleged by the Opposition parties that some officials in the police department might have leaked the information of the movement of the police teams formed to nab him and facilitated his escape. They also said that the EC also needs to look into why the Returning Officer in his complaint said that unknown persons had destroyed the EVMs when he stood up and greeted him seconds before the MLA had destroyed the EVM. They also wonder why the Central monitoring wing of the EC had failed to notice this incident in the control room. When asked, CEO Meena said the officials checked whether the votes that were recorded in the main unit were safe or not and on finding that they were safe, new EVM was set up and polling continued.

Meanwhile, the ECI directed DGP Harish Kumar Gupta to take stringent criminal acation against the MLA. According to the Election Commission, EVMs were damaged at seven polling stations in the Macherla constituency alone on the polling day. Meanwhile, Meena noted that Reddy has been named as accused number one (A1) in the case under 10 sections. The maximum punishment under these sections could be up to seven years, the CEO added.