Medak MP attack accused says he wanted publicity

Siddipet Police Commissioner N Swetha said policde had taken Raju into custody after he was discharged from Gandhi Hospital, Secunderabad on Wednesday.

Siddipet: Ghatani Raju, the prime accused in the attack on Medak MP Kotha Prabhakar Reddy, has reportedly confessed to the police that he attempted to kill the BRS Dubbak candidate to trigger some sensation and grab the attention of the public.

Siddipet Police Commissioner N Swetha said police had taken Raju into custody after he was discharged from Gandhi Hospital, Secunderabad on Wednesday. He was admitted to the hospital on Monday after being thrashed by BRS cadre immediately after the attack at Surampally village in Doulathabad mandal.

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After primary inquiry, investigation officer Kamalakar produced Raju before the court, which remanded him in judicial custody for 14 days, after which he was shifted to the Cherlapally Central Prison. The Commissioner said the police would seek his custody from the court to carry out further investigation. The police had already deposited the weapon used in the attack and Raju’s phone with the court.

The Commissioner said Raju had identity cards of multiple YouTube news channels. Claiming to be a journalist, he used to extort money from people, though no extortion cases were registered against him so far. Raju, who wanted to gain some publicity, had hatched a plan to attack Prabhakar Reddy and while tracking his programmes regularly, bought a knife from the Dubbak market a week ago.

The Commissioner said there was no evidence yet of Raju receiving any external support. However, this could be confirmed only after further investigation and detailed examination of his phone and call data records, she added.