BRS leader Manne Krishank gets relief as court rejects remand plea

A Secunderabad court rejected the police plea seeking remand of BRS social media coordinator Manne Krishank, arrested over a Congress leader’s complaint. Separately, the Telangana High Court directed CCS police not to arrest him in another case and ordered notices

Hyderabad: A Secunderabad court on Tuesday rejected the police plea seeking the remand of BRS social media coordinator Manne Krishank, providing relief to the BRS leader who was arrested by Gopalapuram police in connection with a complaint lodged by a Congress leader.

Krishank was arrested at his residence following a complaint by Congress leader Mettu Sai Kumar, who alleged that banners and flexes had been put up near Medicover Hospital targeting Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and his family with what he termed baseless allegations.

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After his arrest, Krishank was taken to the police station and later to Gandhi Hospital for a medical examination before being produced before the court. The court subsequently rejected the police request to remand him.

The arrest drew a strong response from BRS leaders and cadres, several of whom gathered at the Secunderabad court. Former minister and Secunderabad MLA T Padma Rao, BRS general secretary RS Praveen Kumar, MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy, MLCs Dasoju Sravan Kumar and Shambipur Raju, and former MLAs Balka Suman and Gadari Kishore were among those who reached the court.

The development came a day after the Cyber Crime police registered another case against Krishank, MR Media Telangana and others based on a complaint by Sai Kumar over remarks and published material concerning alleged corruption involving the Chief Minister’s family.

The BRS alleged that the two cases related to the same issue and accused the Congress government of using police cases to target Opposition leaders.

BRS legal cell lawyer Jakkula Laxman alleged that Krishank was arrested within hours of the complaint without a proper investigation. He also alleged that police were acting swiftly on complaints lodged by Congress leaders while BRS complaints remained pending.

Laxman further alleged that the police had invoked certain sections without obtaining the required court permission. He warned that defamation proceedings could be initiated against officials if false cases were registered.

Krishank had earlier criticised the registration of cases over his remarks, saying the ruling party and the Chief Minister’s family should respond to the questions raised by him instead of filing cases. He had described the FIR registered over a press conference as a new low in Telangana politics.

Separately, the Telangana High Court directed the Central Crime Station (CCS) police not to arrest Krishank in another case. The court instead directed the police to issue notices to him in accordance with the procedure and seek his explanation.

The BRS has criticised the police action and questioned the registration of cases against its leaders over allegations made against the government. The Congress and the police position on the allegations should be incorporated if available.