Arrested red sander smuggler Gangi Reddy's wife Kollam Malavika on Saturday filed a petition in the Hyderabad High Court to shift her husband from Kadapa central prison in Andhra to any jail in Telangana.
"Ever since he (Gangi Reddy) was made an accused in Alipiri blast case where an attempt was made on the life of AP chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu in 2003, the Naidu regime has been showing animosity towards my husband. This is happening despite the fact that my husband was acquitted in this blast case as he was not found guilty," the Times of India quotes her as saying.
The TOI report also adds that she made Andhra Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, CID chief Dwaraka Tirumala Rao as respondents along with the state's chief secretary, home secretary, DGP, the SPs of Kadapa, Chittoor and Kurnool districts and the superintendent of Kadapa central prison where Gangi Reddy is lodged.
This move comes a week after Malavika addressed the media and said that her husband was being framed.
"I met my husband in Kadapa jail a few days ago. He told me that that AP police put a gun to his head and told him to confess to the charges framed against him. I am afraid if he does not do so, they might eliminate him in a fake encounter. I have written a letter to governor E S L Narasimhan seeking protection for my husband from the AP cops. My husband is being framed," she had said.
Gangi Reddy is wanted in 27 red sander smuggling cases in the districts of Kurnool, Kadappa and Tirupati and has 20 cases of non-bailable arrest warrants pending against his name.
Gangi Reddy, who ran a red sanders smuggling racket in Chittoor, Nellore, Kurnool and Kadapa districts, was arrested in Mauritius in February following an Interpol red corner notice. Nine months after his arrest, he was brought to Hyderabad on Sunday by a team of police officials.
He is also an accused in the attack on chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu at Alipiri in Chittoor in 2003.
He is a native of Vathalur in Pullampet mandal in Kadapa district. A man known to have controlled extensive crime rackets in both AP and Telangana, police in both the states are hoping that he would lead them to cracking down on some big crime cartels.