Chennai: The CCTV footage of the assault of an Andhra Club member by a gangster in Chennai went viral on the social media. An election dispute in the city’s famous Andhra Club, T Nagar took a violent turn last week. In the video footage, a gangster was seen attacking Sridhar Reddy, a businessman from Andhra Pradesh, with a cricket bat at Vijayaraghava Road, T Nagar.
Sridhar Reddy, who was questioning the functioning of the club, was waylaid by the gangster on Vijayaraghava Road when he was returning home from the Andhra Club recently. The goons attacked Reddy, who had contested for the post of Treasurer in the past. Sridhar Reddy lost his balance and fell down in the middle of the road. The gangster continued to attack him with the bat while his accomplice was waiting on a two-wheeler.
Soon after the attack, the bike rider picked up his colleague on the two-wheeler and escaped from the place. At the same time a car parked near the spot left the place. Even though a passerby noticed the assault, he did not help Sridhar. Similarly, there were so many people passing by and not even one member of the public intervened to stop the attack and catch the gangsters.
According to police sources, there was a rivalry between Janardhana Reddy, a former Andhra Pradesh government official and Sridhar. Janardhana Reddy, an office bearer of Andhra Club, had made several attempts to eliminate Sridhar in the past, but had failed. He had also staged an accident drama to create an impression that Sridhar had attacked him in 2018. In the past, elections of office-bearers of the club would be held every two years. However, the election had not been held for nearly a decade due to repeated litigation.
Under these circumstances, Sridhar, a club member, posed several questions regarding the affairs of the club including accounts. Enraged by this, Janardhana hired the gangsters to assault Sridhar. On a complaint from Sridhar, the police arrested Janardhana Reddy, his friend Rajesh, Thamilarasu and Gopi, a history sheeter. The cops are also on the lookout for others involved in the assault.
