Responding to the sexual harassment allegations against him, Dharmapuri Sanjay, ex-Mayor of Nizamabad city, on Friday said that the allegations are "politically motivated" and aimed at "targeting" his family.
This comes a day after 11 nursing students from the city-based Shaankary Nursing College accused him of sexual harassment.
Sanjay is the son of senior politician and ruling TRS party's Rajya Sabha member Dharmapuri Srinivas aka DS.
On Thursday, several students along with activists from women rights group, Progressive Organisation for Women (POW), met state Home Minister N Narasimha Reddy, who asked the DGP to look into the matter.
The girls in their complaint alleged that Sanjay often spoke to them in a sexist manner laced with innuendos and also forcibly took them to his home.
They also alleged that Sanjay recently sexually abused a girl student who met with an accident and was seeking his permission to go home.
Speaking at Nizamabad, Sanjay said, "There is no truth in the allegations against me. I didn't go to Samkri College and I don't have any relationship with the college. I don't even know who is studying in the college. I have a wife and children. I'm not in any live-in relationship with anyone. Someone told those students to speak against me and make these allegations."
He further claimed that his family is being targeted as elections are being held this year. He said, "It seems all this is happening to attack us politically, we don't know (who) but someone is targeting our family. These things are happening as elections are coming up, they are doing it with vested political interests.”
Meanwhile, the 11 students met with Nizamabad CP, Karthikeya, and lodged a formal complaint. Women organisations are demanding the arrest of Sanjay and the scrapping of Samkri’s college registration. They also want the students transferred to another college.
The allegations surfaced in the wake of simmering political rifts in TRS. Nearly a month ago, Nizamabad MP Kavitha with her allies had complained against D Srinivas to party chief KCR alleging that he was indulging in anti-party activities. It is also rumoured that Aravind, another son of D Srinivas, is aspiring to become an MP from BJP Nizamabad, which in turn is throwing up a challenge to Kavitha.