Y S Sharmila Arrested, Shifted To Hyderabad

The police on Sunday arrested YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) president Y S Sharmila and sent her to Hyderabad after cancelling permission for her ongoing Praja Prasthanam Padayatra.

Sharmila, who is currently in Mahbubabad district as part of her padayatra, had on Saturday alleged that Mahabubabad MLA Banoth Shankar Nayak was indulging in many irregularities and was encroaching upon lands in the district.

That led to the supporters of the MLA lodging a complaint with the police alleging that she had made derogatory remarks against the legislator, and the police served a notice to Sharmila and later took her into custody. An SC/ST Atrocities Act case has been registered against her.

Continuing to protest against the remarks of Sharmila, BRS activists staged a dharna on the Maripeda-Mahbubabad Highway and blocked the movement of vehicles for some time on Sunday morning. With the situation going out of control, the police, as a precautionary measure, cancelled Sharmila's padayatra and arrested her near the Salar Thanda night camp. They then sent her to the State capital.

Speaking to the media, Sharmila alleged that Nayak had made abusive and foul remarks against her. She asked if a male MLA in this State could use such foul language against a woman leader, and claimed that the MLA was simply unable to digest the courage of a woman.

She reiterated her allegations that Nayak was encroaching upon thousands of acres of land in his constituency. She alleged that he had encroached upon 2,100 acres of government land out of the 2,170 acres that existed in 2014 in the Mahbubabad Assembly constituency. She said that the MLA was claiming that there was no government land in his constituency but that she had received several complaints against him from different people alleging that he had encroached upon tanks and lands belonging to the tribal people of the constituency. She said that she had gathered enormous evidence against the MLA, and also presented a video clip which she claimed showed his corrupt acts.

She also alleged that Nayak had cheated the journalists of his constituency by not allotting house sites to them after taking money.

She reiterated that she had spoken against Nayak as he was a corrupt leader, and that she was also only responding to the comments that he had made against her.

She also alleged that BRS leaders had damaged her escort vehicle and an ambulance of her convoy.