Rajamahendravaram (Andhra Pradesh), Apr 25 YSRCP MLC Ananta Satya Uday Bhaskar was remanded to 14 days judicial custody by a local court here on Saturday for allegedly influencing witnesses in the 2022 murder case of his driver.
The YSRCP MLC was arrested by the police outside a district court here on Friday.
The case pertains to the alleged involvement of Bhaskar in the murder of V Subrahmanyam, a Dalit.
"Bhaskar was sent to judicial custody for 14 days by the court here today for influencing witnesses in the 2022 murder case of his Dalit driver Subrahmanyam," a police official told PTI.
He was sent to Rajamahendravaram Central Jail following the remand, police said.
During an alleged altercation over Rs 20,000 owed by Subramanyam to Bhaskar, the MLC assaulted and pushed his driver, who fell onto an iron grill and suffered a fatal head injury.
Subramanyam was allegedly in an inebriated condition at that time.
The police said the MLC later attempted to take him to hospital, but medical assistance was not immediately available, and the victim eventually succumbed to injuries.
Later, Bhaskar tried to portray the death as a road accident, claiming that the victim had a history of drunken driving accidents.
The MLC allegedly attempted to tamper with evidence by pressuring key witnesses ahead of the trial proceedings, police said.
Bhaskar allegedly gave Rs 1 lakh each to four witnesses, coercing them into signing documents, and threatened them with death if they appeared before the court, the police official said.
Police have registered a case under sections 61(2), 232(1), 351(2), 127(2) and 308(5)(6)(7) read with 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Police said a petition will be filed before the local court in Kakinada on Monday seeking custody of the MLC for further investigation.
