A team of CID officials, who are probing the alleged police excesses against Cantonment MLA P Shankar Rao while shifting him to Neredmet police station a few days ago, visited the house of the legislator on Thursday and inquired from neighbours about the manner in which he was shifted.
Shankar Rao’s family was not present in the house when the CID team visited, which fuelled their dissent further, prompting them to reiterate their demand for a CBI probe into the incident.
Meanwhile, chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy’s baiters, including MLA Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy, MP G Vivekanand and minister K Jana Reddy, met Shankar Rao at the Care Hospital where he is undergoing treatment.
A team of CID officials led by DIG Shanka Brata Bagchi visited the house of Shankar Rao Thursday afternoon and recorded the statements of a few eye-witnesses, mainly residents of nearby houses who were present when Shankar Rao was shifted from his house by police.
The inquiry team wanted to know the behaviour of the policemen and reportedly asked the neighbours whether they used force.
Two reporters of a television channels, who were present at the house to shoot the incident on that day, were also questioned.
Subsequently, the CID team met the doctors at Gandhi hospital and recorded their statements. They sought to know the health condition of Shankar Rao when he was brought to the hospital on January 31, hours after he was picked up from his residence.
Shankar Rao’s daughter Sushmitha, however, expressed unhappiness over the manner in which the probe is conducted. “The CID came to my house in the absence of myself and my family and took photographs of the house. It is very disappointing that the CID did not inform us about it (visit). We have lost faith in the inquiry,” Sushmitha said, reiterating her demand for a CBI probe into the issue.
Ramachandra Reddy, Jana Reddy and Vivek visited Shankar Rao at the hospital on Thursday, a day after PCC chief Botcha Satyanarayana called on the legislator and inquired about his health. Bothca is also a known detractor of Kiran Kumar Reddy.
Ramachandra Reddy, who hails from Chittoor district, had quit his legislator MLA post recently, following differences with Kiran Kumar Reddy. They reportedly expressed their displeasure over the manner in which the senior legislator was treated. They also inquired about his health with the doctors there.