Gunman opens fire after TD candidate is attacked in Tirupati

Tirupati: Chaos prevailed in the temple city of Tirupati on Tuesday afternoon when a group of YSRC activists attacked Pulivarthi Nani, Telugu Desam party candidate from Chandragiri assembly constituency.

The attack took place on the premises of Sri Padmavati Mahila Viswa Vidyalayam, where Nani had gone to inspect the strong room, where electronic voting machines (EVMs) and voter-verified paper audit trails (VVPATs) used to record polling in Chandragiri constituency had been stored.

Eyewitnesses said Nani confronted a group of YSRC activists in the area, leading to a heated exchange that quickly escalated into physical violence.

According to information, a mob of around 150 YSRC workers allegedly led by Ramachandrapuram's ZPTC member Bhanu Prakash launched an assault on Nani and those accompanying him with hammers, stones and beer bottles. When Nani and his gunman Dharani sustained injuries in the attack, Dharani fired two shots into the air in self-defence, which scattered the assailants.

Concurrently, Nani's wife Sudha informed TD cadres about the attack. TD supporters quickly converged onto the university and started protesting on the main road in front of the university, obstructing traffic.

Around that time, a car sporting YSRC flags arrived at the place. TD workers set it afire, along with several motorcycles in the vicinity.

Police started a lathi-charge, which led to TD cadres vandalising police vehicles.

Collector Pravin Kumar and superintendent of police Krishna Kant Patil rushed to the scene and brought the situation under control. They assured that appropriate legal action will be taken against those involved.

Nani questioned how YSRC activists, armed with weapons, could breach the security within the university premises, where EVMs had been secured in a strong room. He alleged that the attack on him had been meticulously planned by YSRC MLA Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy. Accusing police and election officials of colluding with Bhaskar Reddy, Nani raised concerns about the safety of EVMs, given the nature of the attack on him at the strong room premises.

TD president Nara Chandrababu Naidu condemned the violence, accusing YSRC of orchestrating the attack out of fear of an impending defeat.

"If 150 YSRC rowdies can run amok with knives and rods at Padmavati Women's University, which has the strong room, what protection is there for the voters' verdict," Naidu asked. He lambasted the police for failing to maintain law and order.