Revanth arrest: EC transfers Vikarabad SP

Following the Hyderabad High Court's view of the "unwarranted arrest" of Telangana Congress committee working president A Revanth Reddy on Tuesday, the Election Commission transferred Vikarabad police superintendent T Annapurna and posted Avinash Mohanty as the new SP.

Avinash was asked to take charge immediately. Annapurna has been attached to the DGP office. She will not be assigned election duties, the EC said.

It may be mentioned that The Kodangal police arrested Revanth Reddy from his house in the early on Tuesday, hours ahead of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s public meeting in the constituency.

Revanth had called for disallowing KCR from entering Kodangal constituency, as his party’s candidate P Narender Reddy was caught holding cash illegally in his farmhouse last week.

The police detained Revanth Reddy at the district police training centre in Jadcherla, about 85 km from his hometown.

Congress leader V Narender Reddy moved the High Court challenging the illegal arrest of Revanth. The court took a serious view of the arrest and directed his immediate release and posted the further hearing in the case to Wednesday. The police released him around 4 pm, a few minutes before KCR’s public meeting in Kodangal.

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi protested on social media platform Twitter against the arrest of the TPCC working president and Congress candidate in Kodangal.

The high court on Wednesday questioned the Advocate General as to what prompted the arrest of Revanth. The bench ordered the director general of police, M Mahender Reddy to personally appear before it by 2.15 pm. The AG sought an exemption for the DGP from personal appearance on grounds that he was busy with election work. The high court turned down his plea and said it was also dealing with the election related case, and hence, he had to be present.

Meanwhile, in quick developments before the DGP’s personal appearance in the court, the EC directed the DGP to transfer Annapurna and said that Avinash Mohanty should take charge before 2 pm.