Andhra Pradesh CID takes custody of actor Posani for questioning

by IANS |

Amaravati, March 18 (IANS) Andhra Pradesh CID on Tuesday took actor and former leader of YSRCP leader Posani Krishna Murali into custody for questioning in a case registered against him for making derogatory remarks against Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan and IT Minister Nara Lokesh.

After taking Posani into custody from jail, the CID shifted him to Government General Hospital, Guntur for medical examination. He was later taken to the CID office for questioning.

On Monday, the Sixth Additional Junior Civil Judge in Guntur sent Posani to one-day police custody. He has been in jail since his arrest from Hyderabad on February 26.

Though the actor got bail in several cases registered against him in different police stations, he had to remain in jail after the CID last week brought him from Kurnool to Guntur on a Prisoner Transit (PT) warrant and produced in a court, which sent him to judicial custody for 14 days.

The CID registered a case against Posani in October last year on a complaint by a Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader.

Posani, who also served as AP Film Development Corporation Chairman, has been booked under sections 111, 196, 353, 299, 341, and 336 (3) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

After his arrest from Hyderabad on February 26, Posani was taken to Annamayya district where a case was registered against him for allegedly trying to create animosity between various sections of the society. He was remanded to judicial custody.

Later, the actor was taken to Kurnool on a PT warrant in connection with a case registered by Adoni Police. He was shifted to jail at Kurnool and was later brought to Vijayawada on a PT warrant in connection with another case.

Though the courts granted him bail, he remained in jail after the CID moved the court for a PT warrant.

YSRCP said the Chandrababu-led government registered 17 cases against Posani due to "political vendetta".

The opposition party accused the NDA government of "conspiring" to deny him legal relief, with police registering cases across the state after his arrest and "deliberately withholding" details of where the cases were filed to hinder bail efforts.

The government sought PT warrants in each case, forcing Posani to be transported hundreds of kilometres - from Hyderabad to Vijayawada via Rajampet, then to Narsaraopet, Guntur, Adoni in Kurnool district, back to Suryaraopet in Vijayawada, to Kurnool and finally to Guntur, the YSRCP said.

Despite being 67 years old and suffering from heart and other health issues, the police subjected Posani to harassment, allegedly as part of a government strategy to worsen his condition, the opposition party said.