Brother of MLA detained with gun

Nakirekal MLA Vemula Veeresham’s younger brother Vemula Ramachandraiah and three others were detained by Siddipet police for possessing firearms. However, the police did not confirm their arrest.

Sources said the police arrested a person two days ago and recovered a firearm from him. He said that he was part of a gang spread around in Hyderabad and Nalgonda districts and that Ramachandraiah was also a part of it.

Based on clues given by the suspect, Siddipet police detained Ramachandraiah on Sunday from Shaligouraram in Nalgonda and two more persons from Tarnaka in Hyderabad and recovered country firearms from them.

Sources said they are being questioned at an undisclosed location about their alleged links with a banned Maoist group and slain gangster Nayeem. Senior police officials said they are working on the case and details will be revealed soon.

Meanwhile, former Nakirekal MLA, Chirumarthi Lingaiah alleged that Ramachandraiah had firearms since a long time and he faced a threat to his life from him. He asked the police to thoroughly investigate the racket and arrest everyone who had connections to them. Nine persons, suspected to be poachers, have been arrested and two country-made guns recovered from them at Laxmipuram in Kallur mandal on Sunday.

Police identified the arrested persons as Guglothu Sankar, Bhukya Nagaraju, Banothu Ramesh, Badavathu Krishna and Banotu Gopal, all residents of Laxmipuram. Th epolice recovered a country-made gun, four bullets, two torches and three two-wheelers from them.Four other persons — Krishna, Srinu, Babu Rao and Ramdas, all residents of Enkoor, — were arrested while they were going to the forests allegedly to hunt wildlife. A rifle and firecrackers were recovered from them.