Konda Surekha hits back at govt

HYDERABAD: Congress MLA Konda Surekha, who is facing charges under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (Pota), challenged the state government on Friday to furnish any evidence it had of her association with the People’s War and her involvement in a conspiracy to kill her political rival, TDP legislator E Dayakar Rao.
Surekha and her husband Murali, who too has been charged under Pota, addressed a press conference in the city on Friday and blamed Dayakar Rao for “forcing� the police to frame a false case against them.“A Pota case has been slapped on us on the basis of a mere confession by a person in police custody,’’ Surekha said, hinting at a larger conspiracy by TDP leaders of Warangal district. The Congress MLA from Shayampet said police extracted the confessional statement from G Mahipal Reddy, a close associate of her husband.
She also refuted the police version that Mahipal Reddy was arrested on Thursday. “On summons from the Hanmakonda circle inspector Ghulam Samdhani, I handed over him to the police on March 24. He was illegally detained for 10 days,’’ she said. Surekha defended her presence at the funeral of the People’s War leader P Sudarshan Reddy alias RK who was killed in an encounter with the police last fortnight. “I attend the funerals of many people in my constituency. RK was also from my area and hence I felt it fit to attend his funeral,’’ she said.
Warangal range DIG T Krishna Prasad, however, said Surekha, her husband, RK and 15 others figured as accused in the case, framed following the confession of Mahipal Reddy. He said Mahipal had informed the police that the MLA and her husband solicited naxalite help in eliminating Dayakar Rao.
But, the Congress came out in defence of Surekha and her husband and demanded withdrawal of the case. PCC president M Satyanarayana Rao said the TDP was trying to harass Congressmen and the chief minister himself was a party to this ploy. Home minister T Devender Goud denied this accusation and said the government would investigate the matter thoroughly.