Jagan’s ex-CPRO arrested, released, arrested again

Tirupati: Guntur Kothapeta police took former chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's ex-CPRO Pudi Srihari into custody in connection with a social media abuse case after he was let off by Kuppam police following a local court's order on Thursday.Kuppam police detained Srihari in Bengaluru on Wednesday morning after he failed to get relief in the Supreme Court, and after being shifted to Kuppam, he was presented before a local court on Thursday morning. The Kuppam court directed the police to release Srihari after serving him notices under section 35(3) of BNS Act. Following the order, he was shifted back to the police station and served notices. However, before he could be released, Kothapeta police from Guntur district reached Kuppam police station and took Srihari into custody in connection with another social media case registered at Kothapeta police station, based on a complaint by Guntur East TDP legislator Mohammed Naseer Ahmed. YSRCP spokesperson and former Proddatur MLA Rachamallu Sivaprasad Reddy said Srihari being booked by the police in back-to-back social media abuse cases clearly establishes the NDA govt's motive to stifle the voice of the opposition by booking false cases against YSRCP functionaries. "Within a fortnight, Srihari was arrested twice in the same case. Such witch-hunting tactics and blatant misuse of police force are highly condemnable," he alleged.