Ahead of AP local polls, candidates, kin kidnapped

Followers of former minister and TD state president K. Atchannaidu have allegedly prevented YSRC supporter Kinjarapu Appanna from filing his nomination from Nimmada in Srikakulam district, home village of Kinjarapu family on Sunday.

Reports said Atchannaidu called Appanna, who also happens to be his nephew, asking him not to file his nomination. Appanna refused stating his wife had lost her government job during TD regime and his family also did not benefit much from Telugu Desam party.

After Appanna expressed his determination to file his nomination, TD workers and close followers of Atchannaidu rushed to YSRCP leader’s residence and prevented him from coming out of his house to file nomination papers.

This led to commotion with the two groups of people almost coming to blows. Police personnel rushed to the spot and dispersed the crowd. Appanna finally filed his nomination papers under police escort.

Elsewhere, one Sabbella Srinivasa Reddy of Gollalakunta village in Jaggampeta mandal of East Godavari district, who switched over to Telugu Desam from YSR Congress on Saturday, was kidnapped and dropped in a forest between Bhavaram and Govindapuram villages after being tied with ropes.

The incident went viral and created havoc in the district. Telugu Desam leaders alleged that he had opposed marking the village as ‘unanimous’ for the gram panchayat election. However, the police said that no complaint has been lodged regarding the incident.

According to sources, Srinivasa Reddy wanted to field his wife Pushpa Veni for the sarpanch post. In the wee hours of Sunday, when he came out of his house and was drinking water, some unknown persons came and covered his face with a hood. Later, they tied him with ropes and dropped him near a forest between Bhavaram and Govndapuram. On Sunday morning, a cattleherd saw Reddy lying on the ground. He informed the villagers, who came and took him to his house. Later, his wife Pushpaveni filed her nomination papers and Srinivasa Reddy accompanied her.

A tense situation is prevailing at Rayadurgam in Anantapur on Sunday after the husband of a sarpanch candidate of Banepalli gram panchayat belonging to Telugu Desam was abducted. The kidnapping took place near Molakalmur in Karnataka.

According to Eeranna, TD leader from Banepalli in Rayadurgam assembly segment, he went to offer pooja and seek blessings from the goddess of a temple in Hulagi of Koppal district before his wife could file nomination papers for the post of sarpanch in the ward reserved for women.

Eeranna was at Molakalmur bus stand in Karnataka, about 30 km from his village, when a group of unidentified persons dragged him into car and took him into deserted fields away from Molakalmur town. Eeranna said he escaped from the abductors at Morampalli.