KAKINADA : The family of Subrahmanyam, MLC Ananta Udaya Bhaskar’s former driver who died under suspicious circumstances, have refused to give consent for performing the post-mortem. Alleging that their son was murdered, they demanded the police to arrest the MLC and also urged the police to book a case for murder instead of suspicious death.
At 1:30 am on Friday, the MLC had delivered the body of his former driver at his residence in Kakinada, claiming he was killed in an accident. The family, however, claimed that Subrahmanyam was murdered as there were no signs of any injuries. Based on the complaint of Veedhi Ratnam, the driver’s mother, police registered a case of suspicious death.
The opposition parties have been protesting outside the Kakinada GGH, where Subrahmanyam’s body has been kept in the mortuary, demanding a judicial probe into his death and arrest of MLC Udaya Bhaskar. Meanwhile, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has ordered a thorough investigation into the death of the MLC’s former driver.
Speaking to reporters at SV University Senate Hall in Tirupati on Saturday afternoon, DGP KV Rajendranath Reddy said a case was already registered and that the department is waiting for the medical reports. He asserted that the department is committed to doing a fair investigation and will not spare anyone involved.
Later in the evening, revenue and police officials completed the inquest and read it to the family members, who were allegedly forcefully brought to the government hospital. The family reportedly went into hiding with the help of Dalit organisations, refusing to consent for post-mortem until their demands are met.
The TDP fact-finding committee and other political leaders besides Dalit organisations tried to force their way into the hospital premises, demanding the removal of the MLC from the post and a judicial inquiry into the death. They were stopped by the police, who were deployed in large numbers to prevent any untoward incidents.
TDP SC Cell president MS Raju sustained injuries in a scuffle between the police and TDP leaders.
TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu demanded the police to arrest YSRC MLC Ananta Udaya Bhaskar saying, “He is the main accused in the murder of his former car driver Veedhi Subrahmanyam.” He said TDP would continue the agitation until the MLC is arrested. Naidu condemned the manner in which the police behaved with the TDP fact-finding committee during its visit to Kakinada and accusing them of trying to mislead the case even though the driver’s parents were stating that their son was murdered.