YSRCP MLC arrested for 'tampering' with witnesses in Dalit driver 'murder' case

Rajamahendravaram (Andhra Pradesh), Apr 24 (PTI) YSRCP MLC Ananta Satya Uday Bhaskar was arrested by the police outside a district court here on Friday for allegedly influencing witnesses in the 2022 murder case of his driver V Subrahmanyam, an official said.

    The case pertains to the alleged involvement of Bhaskar in the murder of Subrahmanyam, a Dalit.

    During an alleged altercation over Rs 20,000 owed by Subramanyam to Bhaskar, the MLC allegedly assaulted and pushed the deceased, who fell onto an iron grill and suffered a fatal head injury.

    Subramanyam was allegedly in an inebriated condition at that time.

    Police said the MLC later attempted to take him to hospitals, but medical assistance was not immediately available, and the victim eventually succumbed to injuries.

    The legislator subsequently allegedly tried to portray the death as a road accident, claiming that the victim had a history of drunken driving and accidents.

    "Bhaskar was taken into custody outside a district court here today for attempting to influence witnesses in the 2022 murder case of his Dalit driver Subrahmanyam," the official told PTI.

    The MLC, accused in the killing allegedly attempted to tamper with evidence by pressuring key witnesses ahead of the trial proceedings, police said.

    The official said Bhaskar allegedly gave Rs 1 lakh each to four witnesses, coercing them into signing documents, and threatened them with death if they appeared before the court.

    Meanwhile, police registered a case.

    The alleged witness intimidation incident occurred between on April 20 near an apartment in Siddartha Nagar in Kakinada, police said.

    The arrest was made when the MLC arrived at the court premises for hearing in connection with the same case, the official added.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)