In a dramatic turn of events on Thursday, the Banjara Hills police arrested BRS MLA P. Kaushik Reddy around 10 am and detained him in the PS until nightfall, even though there was a chance of him being released after giving notices.
After 10.30 pm, he was medically examined and produced at the judge’s house in Kothapet at midnight. After hearing the arguments, the judge rejected the remand. Kaushik was granted bail.
The dramatic events started in the early hours of Thursday morning, when Banjara Hills police and Task Force police were heavily deployed at Kolla Luxury Villas, where MLA Kaushik Reddy resides in Kondapur. Along with them, Gachibowli police also reached the spot in large numbers.
Meanwhile, the Cyberabad police arrested former minister T. Harish Rao, MLC Shambhipur Raju, former MLA Shankar Nayak and others in advance and sent them to Gachibowli PS, while former minister Jagadish Reddy, Kotha Prabhakar Reddy, Rakesh Reddy and others were arrested and sent to Rayadurgam PS.
Kaushik Reddy asked the police, “Should I be shown the warrant? What cases have been registered against me? What are the sections in them? Has the Speaker given permission for my arrest?” Kaushik Reddy confronted the police.
When the police did not give any answer, he went into the bedroom and closed the door. However, the unruly police tried to break the locks and took him into custody. He was forcibly taken into a vehicle and taken directly to Banjara Hills PS. Restrictions were imposed to prevent him from speaking to the media.
Heavy security was established around Kaushik Reddy’s house during the arrest. Knowing that police arrived to arrest Kaushik Reddy, former ministers and MLAs Harish Rao and Jagadish Reddy reached the spot and raised an agitation alleging that the government was taking steps to incite hatred against BRS MLAs.
In this order, the police closed the main gate of the Villas to prevent more BRS cadres from reaching Kaushik Reddy’s house. MLC Shambhipur Raju jumped the gate and reached Kaushik Reddy’s house and held an agitation along with BRS leaders.
