HYDERABAD: A wedding function at N Convention Centre in Madhapur turned ugly after two young Congress leaders -- Kalvakurthi MLA Vamsichand Reddy and ex-MLA P Vishnuvardhan Reddy -- entered into a fracas in full public view which ended up in both lodging police complaints against each other alleging assault by the opposite group.
As tempers ran high, Vishnuvardhan, son of late Congress leader P Janardhan Reddy, threw a challenge to Vamsi to come to an open ground to “settle the scores.” Police sources say the ncident was the fallout of an old rivalry between the two leaders even as the State Congress was left embarassed.
According to the police and eye-witness accounts, both leaders arrived at the N Convention Centre for the wedding of Vishnu’s brother-in-law. While Vishnu was present with his family, Vamsi said he had been invited by the parents of the bride.
While Vishnu was greeting the guests, he suddenly spotted Vamsi and walked towards him to greet him. As per the CCTV footage, Vishnu is seen shaking hands with Vamsi and the next moment, he slapped him following which a scuffle broke out. Soon, Vishnu’s henchmen too joined the ‘battle’ while Vamsi’s gunman tried to resist Vishnu, who then reportedly assaulted the gunman.
As commotion prevailed at the venue of the wedding, both then headed to Madhapur police station where they lodged complaints against each other. After registering cases, police verified the CCTV footage in which they found Vishnu assaulting Vamsi. “Both congress leaders have an old rivalry which dates back to the days when they were associated with NSUI, the student wing of Congress. The issue between them is personal,” police sources said.
Police registered cases against both under sections 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) and 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint) of the IPC.