Chandrababu Naidu booked for attempt to murder, rioting in Punganur

CHITTOOR: A case has been booked against Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Chief N Chandrababu Naidu for allegedly perpetrating clashes in Punganur town of Chittoor district on August 4, 2023. While Naidu has been named as accused number 1, former TDP Ministers Devineni Umamaheswara Rao and N Amarnath Reddy have been as accused number 2 and 3. TDP leader Ram Gopal Reddy has been named as accused number 4.

Based on the complaint lodged by YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) activist Dr Umpathy Reddy, an FIR was filed in Mudiveedu Police Station in Kurbalakota mandal of Annamayya district in Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday. Naidu was also accused of provoking the TDP cadres and being involved in a criminal conspiracy.

The police had booked Chandrababu along with 20 others that included Nallari Kishore Kumar Reddy, Dammalapati Ramesh, Ganta Narahari, Sriram Chinna Babu and Pulavarthi Nani under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 120b (criminal conspiracy), 147 (rioting), 148 (armed with deadly weapon), 153 (Wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 307 (attempt to murder),115, 109, (abetment of offence), 323, 324 (voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (criminal intimidation) r/w 149 (unlawful assembly).

More than 50 police personnel were injured in the Punganur violence. A total of 7 FIRs were filed by the police, and 245 people were booked in the case. So far, police had arrested 72 people under the Mudiveedu Police Station limits. Meanwhile, the Mokalacheruvu Police booked a case against Chandrababu for his provoking statements at the Punganur roadshow based on a complaint filed by YSRCP activist Chand Basha. The TDP Chief was booked as Accused No.7 in the case, the police said.