Extortion case: BRS MLA Kaushik Reddy arrested at Hyderabad airport, granted bail within hours

HANUMAKONDA: In a dramatic late-night swoop, Warangal police arrested BRS MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad on Friday and whisked him away to Hanumakonda for questioning in an extortion case.However, in a surprising turn, a Kazipet court rejected the police remand plea and granted him bail on a Rs 20,000 personal bond within hours, bringing an end to the 18-hour high drama.The Huzurabad legislator was booked by the Subedari police on a complaint filed by Katta Umadevi, wife of granite businessman Manoj Reddy. In her complaint, lodged on April 21, Umadevi alleged that Kaushik Reddy had been threatening her husband for over 20 days, demanding money from Manoj for running his granite business in Vangapally village in Kamalapur mandal. She alleged that Kaushik Reddy had already extorted Rs 25 lakh and, on April 18, called again demanding Rs 50 lakh. According to the complaint, he threatened to kill Manoj Reddy and his family and used abusive language. Subedari police registered a case under sections 308(2), 308(4), and 352 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.The MLA had earlier moved the Telangana high court seeking to quash the FIR. However, the court dismissed his plea on June 16 and vacated the interim protection from arrest, instructing him to cooperate with the investigation.

Despite this direction, police claimed that the MLA was evading questioning, which prompted his arrest upon arrival at the airport.After his arrest, Kaushik Reddy was taken to the Subedari police station and later to MGM Hospital for a mandatory medical check-up before being produced in Kazipet railway court.His arrest sparked protests from BRS workers. Former minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao and ex-chief whip Dasyam Vinay Bhaskar arrived at the police station, demanding to meet the MLA. Party workers also attempted to burn an effigy of chief minister A Revanth Reddy outside the station, prompting police to detain several of them and shift them to Madikonda police station. Police will continue their investigation into the extortion charges, sources said.