Visakhapatnam: Senior BJP leader and Anakapalli Lok Sabha candidate C.M. Ramesh, leading a crowd of over 200 party workers, created a scene at Buchiraju Traders, a wholesale dealer in tiles and marbles in Chodavaram on Friday.
This happened when the state directorate of revenue intelligence officials from Vijayawada were conducting a raid against GST evasion.
The dealer Ramakrishna, a former YSRC member and now a TD supporter, called TD Chodavaram Assembly candidate K.S.N.S. Raju and Anakapalli Lok Sabha nominee Ramesh and informed them about the raid.
Raju and Ramesh, leading a crowd of 200 TD workers, entered the dealer’s office and questioned the DRI officials as to how they could conduct raids without prior information.
Eye witness accounts said Ramesh turned wild and raised his voice. He told the officials that he knew who instigated the raid and asked them to leave the premises immediately.
Ramesh threatened the officials that he would not allow the raid and stage a dharna till they left their premises. Ramesh seized some files from the officials after pushing them around.
The officials pleaded with Ramesh that they were doing their duties and there was no instigation from any quarters.
Dealer Ramakrishna told Ramesh that the DRI officials took away Rs 25 lakh from his counter.
As the word spread around, a large number of people gathered at the dealer’s premises. A police team headed by inspector Srinivasa Rao arrived and spoke to the DRI officials.
Together, they went to Chodavaram police station where the DRI officials lodged a complaint against Ramesh, Raju and others.
The police registered cases under Sections 143, 506, 342, 353, 201,188 read with 149 under IPC against Ramesh, former MLA KSNS Raju, tiles dealer Ramakrishna and two others.
“We will take action against these men after completing our investigations,’’ said Anakapalli SP, Murali Krishna.
“We are assessing the volume of GST evasion by this dealer,’’ said assistant director of state DRI, M.S.R.K. Somesh.
