Hyderabad: The election of the municipal chairperson in Ibrahimpatnam on Hyderabad’s outskirts took a dramatic turn on Tuesday, with the power struggle spilling into Telangana high court amid allegations of kidnapping, political pressure and police interference.
A division bench of Justices Moushumi Bhattacharya and Gadi Praveen Kumar directed Ibrahimpatnam police to produce councillor Akula Yadagiri before the court at 10.30 am on Wednesday and appointed a senior advocate as amicus curiae to assist in the matter.
“They did not allow even his wife and son to meet him (at the meeting),” he told the court. He alleged that former MLA Manchireddy Kishan Reddy and his son Prashanth Reddy were behind the kidnap. A missing case had already been registered at Ibrahimpatnam police station. When the bench indicated it would ask police to produce Yadagiri in court, senior counsel L Ravi Chander objected, saying the police could be under the influence of the ‘state’ (govt). In response, Harikanth’s counsel A. Venkatesh argued that Yadagiri remained in the custody of the former MLA and was forcibly brought to the meeting. Ravi Chander urged that police should not be tasked with producing Yadagiri and instead sought appointment of an advocate commissioner.
Venkatesh, however, requested that police immediately take Yadagiri into custody and present him before the court.