Former YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) MLA from Macherla Pinelli Ramakrishna Reddy was arrested by Andhra Pradesh police on Wednesday, June 26 in connection with destroying Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). Visuals of Ramakrishna Reddy destroying EVMs emerged on May 13, when Andhra Pradesh was voting in the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections simultaneously.
The then Macherla MLA who lost to Telugu Desam Party’s (TDP) J Brahmananda Reddy had sought interim protection from the Andhra Pradesh High Court, which he received till June 5. Nearly three weeks later, Andhra police officials have arrested him.
According to reports, Ramakrishna Reddy has been taken to the Palnadu Superintendent of Police’s (SP) office in Narasaraopet and will be produced before the Macherla magistrate court. The arrest took place after the Andhra Pradesh High Court on Wednesday dismissed an anticipatory bail petition filed by the former MLA.
The districts of Palnadu, Tirupati, and Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh witnessed major violence on May 13, the day of polling, and subsequent days. Following 33 instances of violence, the Andhra Pradesh government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the Election Commission’s orders. The SIT was also investigating the destruction of EVMs caused by Ramakrishna Reddy.