Andhra Pradesh minister’s son booked for woman harassment

The Banjara Hills police on Saturday registered a case against Ravela Susheel, son of Andhra Pradesh minister Ravela Kishore Babu, for outraging the modesty of a woman the day before. Susheel is absconding.

Susheel and another person had followed a woman pedestrian in their car at Banjara Hills on Friday and attempted to pull her into the vehicle. After she escaped and raised an alarm, the duo was beaten up by a crowd.

CCTV footage showed that Susheel’s car had followed the woman for almost a km. The police had booked only the driver under the pretext that the other person in the car had not been identified.

After a day-long outcry against alleged inaction, the police recorded the statement of the victim, a teacher, and issued notices to Susheel and driver M. Ramesh, alias Appa Rao, to present themselves for investigation.

Susheel denied the charges and posted on his Facebook page that he had stopped his car to pick up a puppy that had come in the way “as I am fond of pets”. He claimed that the woman saw him and started shouting after which a crowd gathered and beat them up, and alleged that it was a case of political vendetta.

This contradicted his driver M. Ramesh’s complaint to the police on Thursday, saying that around 12 persons had started attacking Susheel while he was relieving himself.

Minister Kishore Babu said the police investigation would clear things, and that he would not intervene. “I will not accept such behaviour, whoever may be the person,” he said.

“We have speeded the investigation. If they turn up by the given time, we will proceed according to the law,” West Zone DCP A. Venkateshwar Rao said.

Based on a petition from an NGO, the State Minorities Commission directed the police to file a report.