Hyderabad: Former Andhra Pradesh minister Akhila Priya was taken into custody on Wednesday in connection with the abduction of a former badminton player Praveen Rao and his two brothers, Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar said.
Priya’s husband Bhargava Ram and another relative were also detained and were being questioned by the police.
According to police sources, Praveen Rao and his two brothers, Sunil Rao and Naveen Rao, were abducted from their house in Manu Vikas Nagar colony in Secunderabad on Tuesday evening, creating a sensation in the city.
Quickly responding to the family’s complaint, police identified the two cars in which the three brothers were taken to a farmhouse in Vikarabad on the outskirts of Hyderabad and rescued them. The abductors had also taken away their phones and laptop with them.
“We know who is behind this abduction and have informed the police about it,” said Pratap Rao, another brother of the abducted victims.
After the kidnapping, the miscreants forced Praveen Rao to sign some papers, the family said.
According to the police, the abduction was linked to a land dispute and the investigations were progressing from the angle.
Akhila Priya, who was a minister in the N Chandrababu Naidu government and a prominent leader of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Kurnool district, was the daughter and political heir of Bhuma Nagi Reddy, a notorious faction leader of the district. After Nagi Reddy’s sudden death, Akhila had become MLA and minister in his place. Bhuma Nagi Reddy, who was involved in many serious criminal cases, was one of the top faction leaders of Rayala Seema region in Andhra Pradesh and served as a minister in many TDP governments.
Praveen Rao, on the other hand, is a distant relative of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
“There is no political angle to this kidnapping. We have been unnecessarily dragged into a dispute with which we have nothing to do,” Pratap Rao told the reporters.
On hearing about the news of the abduction, state minister T Srinivas Yadav visited Praveen Rao’s house and assured the family of protection. Later police security was tightened in the area.
