The situation in the port city of Visakhapatnam remained tense on Sunday, October 16, as the police barred Jana Sena Party (JSP) leader and actor Pawan Kalyan from holding meetings or rallies. As Pawan Kalyan remained in the Novotel Hotel on Beach Road, a large number of his followers gathered outside the hotel to catch a glimpse of the star. Pawan Kalyan waved at the crowd from the sixth floor of the hotel where he is staying. "Hope, AP police won't tell me not to greet from my room's window," tweeted Pawan Kalyan, who posted a video of the view from his room.
"Our beloved AP police under the Eminent Leadership of CM Sri Thanos barred me not to hold Jana Sena programs, no rallies, no meetings. Left me with this option only... from my room window," read another tweet by the actor. "A thought just crossed my mind... am I allowed to go for an evening walk on RK beach to take some fresh air," he wrote.
Tension gripped the city since Saturday evening when convoys of state minister RK Roja and some other leaders of the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) were attacked by a group of persons near the Visakhapatnam airport. The incident occurred when a large number of JSP supporters gathered to welcome Pawan Kalyan who was landing in the city while YSRCP leaders were leaving after attending a rally called 'Visakha Garjana' organised by the ruling party in support of three state capitals.
Our beloved AP police under the Eminent Leadership of CM
— Pawan Kalyan (@PawanKalyan) October 16, 2022
Sri Thanos barred me not to hold Janasena programs, no rallies, no meetings.Left me with this option only… from my Room window. pic.twitter.com/3oatyfAtHI
Pawan Kalyan had arrived in Visakhapatnam on a three-day visit for his party’s 'Jana Vani' programme aimed at receiving grievances from people of the north Andhra region. After landing at the airport, Pawan Kalyan left for the hotel in a rally attended by hundreds of his party workers and fans. Jana Sena Party has alleged that the police did not provide adequate force to manage the traffic and crowd despite being given notice in advance and that they stopped Pawan Kalyan from appearing in front of the crowd and waving at the public.
Since Saturday evening, Pawan Kalyan remained confined to the hotel. A large number of policemen were deployed outside the hotel to control JSP workers and the actor's fans who had reached there. The actor-politician was served a notice by the police on Sunday directing him not to address any meeting or rally in view of the prohibitory orders. The police also blamed him for the incident that occurred at the airport. Pawan Kalyan, however, denied this and slammed the police for their alleged high-handed behaviour.
The police have booked several leaders and workers of JSP in two separate cases for the attacks on the vehicles of YSRCP leaders as well as police personnel. The cases were booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) based on a complaint by M Dilip Kumar, personal assistant to minister Roja. Tata Rao, Shiva Prasad Reddy, Bolisetti Satyanarayana and other leaders have been booked. S Vijay Kumar and PVSS Raju, who were staying in Novotel, were also arrested. The police also searched the sixth floor of the hotel where Pawan Kalyan was staying.
Meanwhile, a city court granted bail to 61 JSP leaders and workers arrested over the incident. The police late on Sunday night produced 70 arrested men before the VIIth Metropolitan Magistrate. Of them, 61 were granted bail on a personal bond of Rs 10,000 each.
The magistrate sent the remaining nine accused to judicial custody till October 28. However, Section 307 (attempt to murder) booked against them was altered to Section 326 (Voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means) of the IPC. A member of JSP's legal team said the magistrate found fault with the way procedure was adopted by the police and replaced section 307 with 326. The police had booked a total of 92 leaders and workers of the JSP in connection with the attack. Of them 70 were arrested.
JSP alleged that the police kept shifting the arrested men from one police station to another on Saturday night and it was only on Sunday evening that the legal team came to know that they will be produced before the magistrate. Pawan Kalyan has demanded the immediate release of all JSP leaders and workers. He denied involvement of the JSP in the incident at the airport.
Pawan Kalyan slammed the YSRCP government headed by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy for what he called attempts to suppress voices of dissent. Terming YSRCP an epitome of criminalisation of politics, the actor said he was ready to face cases and even go to jail in his fight against criminalisation of politics.