MP K. Raghu Ramakrishna Raju sent in judicial remand till May 28

Vijayawada: Narasapur MP K. Raghu Ramakrishna Raju, who was arrested by the AP-CID on charges of sedition in Hyderabad on Friday, was sent to judicial remand till May 28 by a CID special court in Guntur on Saturday.

In a day-long drama, the MP made several futile efforts to avoid jail by getting the bail. At first, he moved a house motion before a vacation bench of the AP High Court, headed by Justice K. Suresh Reddy. However, it dismissed his petition.

Later, in the afternoon, the MP moved a special petition which was heard by a two-member division bench of the High Court comprising Justice C. Praveen Kumar and Justice K. Lalitha. He alleged that he sustained injuries when the CID sleuths used third degree measures on him during the interrogation.

The court issued directions to constitute a three-member medical board headed by the Guntur Government General Hospital medical superintendent  to examine his injuries. It warned of severe action if the injuries were found to have been inflicted on the MP during CID custody. It also asked the medical board to take videography of its examination of the MP. It was left to the medical board to decide on further hospitalisation. However, it rejected the MP’s plea to allow his family members and his family doctor to be present during the examination and also the CRPF security personnel.

In the evening, the CID court said that after examination by the medical board, the MP should be provided treatment at GGH and allowed for treatment in Ramesh Hospitals. Once, the MP recovers from his injuries, he would be sent to judicial remand.

Meanwhile, additional advocate general P. Sudhakar Reddy said that the MP was trying to mislead the court and that the court dismissed his bail petition. He said the MP was normal until afternoon and his family members served him lunch. But soon after his bail petition was dismissed by the court, he enacted a drama that he was beaten up by the CID sleuths severely. The court set up a medical board and asked it to examine the MP and submit a report by Sunday afternoon, he added.

Earlier, Raju’s bail petition was dismissed by the single-judge bench quoting the guidelines framed for hearing bail applications during summer vacation. The court said that in criminal matters pertaining to anticipatory bail matters, bail applications, if bail is refused by magistrates and sessions judge and criminal appeals and criminal revisions cases in which the accused were convicted, only if the trial court gives an order dismissing the bail application can a bail application be moved before the High Court.

As many as 48 videos of the MP posted on various platforms of social media targeting the state government and stirring up communal disharmony with his hate speeches were submitted to the CID court. The CID denied his allegations of third degree measures and maintained that they followed established norms during the inquiry.

Meanwhile, Telugu Desam alleged that the Chief Minister, Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, was targeting the Kshatriya community. However, there were no takers for its charges. Several politicians and industrialists from the predominant Kshatriya community from West Godavari found no fault with the government. “The tone and tenor of the language used by the MP in targeting the government and his behaviour show that he doesn’t deserve to be an MP and it is also unbecoming of a human being,” said a prominent person from East Godavari.