TIRUPATI: Swachh Andhra Corporation chairman and Telugu Desam leader Kommareddy Pattabhi Ram on Sunday sought legal action against former TTD chairman Bhumana Karunakar Reddy and his son Bhumana Abhinay for their alleged involvement in the kidnapping and assault of a Dalit youth in Tirupati.Addressing the media, Pattabhi alleged that Abhinay’s close aides, Anil Kumar Reddy and Jagadish Reddy, abducted Pavan Kumar, a Dalit youth from Pulicherla in Chittoor district, and tortured him. “After videos of the assault surfaced, the victim was forced to make a statement that his own brother had attacked him,” he said. The TD described the incident as an example of inhuman behaviour by YSRC leaders. Pattabhi said that after the video went viral, chief minister Chandrababu Naidu directed the police to immediately trace the victim and ensure justice to him. This led to the arrest of the main accused. The TD leader accused the Bhumana family of large-scale corruption and land encroachment. “They illegally occupied nine acres in the Swarnamukhi river area and registered 21 properties in the names of the family members during Karunakar Reddy’s tenure as TTD and TUDA chairman,” he said. Pattabhi referred to Bhumana’s past, saying that he had risen from the level of running a photocopy shop to owning assets worth thousands of crores. “He must explain his huge source of wealth.” Meanwhile, police traced the whereabouts of Pavan, who went missing after the alleged assault by Anil, the YSRC’s Tirupati social media in-charge, and his aides over a rented two-wheeler dispute. According to the complaint, Pavan was confined in an office room for about 12 hours and beaten with a police baton. They continued this despite his bleeding and pleadings with them to stop the assaults. The gang sent a video of the attack to his father along with a demand for the pending rent payment for the vehicle. The victim’s parents lodged a complaint saying his whereabouts were unknown. Dalit organisations sought police action. His mother, Sunitha, posted a video appeal on social media. Four police teams were formed and Pavan was found in Chittoor. He was shifted to SVR Ruia government general hospital in Tirupati, where doctors confirmed a fracture below his left knee. He remains under treatment in a special ward and a police investigation is under way.
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