Kodela Sivarama Krishna, the son of former Andhra Pradesh Speaker Kodela Siva Prasada Rao, surrendered before the Mangalagiri court in Guntur district on Wednesday in connection to a case of furniture theft booked against him. Soon after he surrendered, Sivarama was released on conditional bail.
Kodela Siva Prasada Rao, a senior leader of the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP), had killed himself at his house in Hyderabad on September 16.
Sivarama appeared in front of the local magistrate after a High Court order, based on a police case booked against him and his father on August 25 for allegedly diverting Assembly furniture to unauthorised places. This included a private showroom belonging to Sivaram Krishna.
The High Court granted conditional bail and the accused will have to visit the Thullur police station every Friday.
On October 1, Sivarama had surrendered before a Narasaraopet court in connection with multiple cases of extortion. The court granted him anticipatory bail.
On August 31, the Andhra Pradesh High Court had directed both Siva Prasada Rao and his son to surrender in cases registered by the police against them on complaints of extortion. The High Court passed the orders and had refused to grant them anticipatory bail.
After the TDP lost power in May and Siva Prasada Rao was defeated in Narasaraopet constituency, several cases were booked against him and his family members, after people complained that they exploited them through extortion over the last few years.
Police had also booked Siva Prasada Rao and his son on August 25 under Sections 409 (cheating) and 411 (dishonestly receiving stolen property) of the IPC for diverting the furniture.
The former Speaker had admitted that while shifting the Assembly furniture and equipment to Amaravati from Hyderabad in 2016, some of it was taken to his office-cum-residence in Sattenapalli. He said this was done as the furniture could have got damaged in the temporary Assembly building.
He had also claimed that he wrote to the legislature secretary, asking him to take back the furniture. He had also offered to pay for the furniture.
Read: