VIJAYAWADA: Former minister and TDP leader Kollu Ravindra was arrested on Thursday morning on the charges of obstructing police personnel on election duty. Later, he was released on bail. Ravindra entered into an argument with the policemen at a polling booth in Machilipatnam during the elections to the municipal corporation on Wednesday. Cases under Sections 356, 506 and 188 of the IPC were registered against him at Inaguduru police station.
On Thursday morning, police reached Ravindra’s residence to arrest him, but a large number of TDP leaders reached there and tried to prevent police from arresting their leader, leading to a mild tension. Ravindra was shifted to Inaguduru police station first and then to the government hospital for medical tests after which he was produced before the district court, which granted bail to the TDP leader.
Speaking to the media after his release, Ravindra said he was not afraid of arrests. “How can the government arrest a person for questioning irregularities?” he asked. Meanwhile, TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu termed the arrest ‘illegal’. He also alleged that the government was specifically targeting the BCs in the TDP.