YSRCP MLC Thota Trimurthulu sentenced to 18 months jail in criminal case from 1996

Amaravati: YSRCP MLC and MLA candidate from Mandapeta constituency Thota Trimurthulu, along with five of his supporters, has been sentenced to 18 months in jail and fined Rs 2.5 lakhs for forcefully tonsuring two Dalit youths supporting BSP in East Godavari district in 1996.

This verdict in the case comes after almost 27 years. The case dates to December 29, 1996, when Trimurthulu, who was at the time an independent MLA of Ramachandrapuram, allegedly tonsured two Dalit youngsters — Koti Chinna Raju and Dandala Venkata Ratnam — and beat up three others, Challapudi Pattabhiramayya, Kanikella Ganapati and Puvvala Venkata Ramana of Venkatayapalem in East Godavari district. The incident happened when they opposed him in the State Assembly elections.

Trimurthulu was elected as an MLA from the TDP in 1999 and 2014 and lost in 2019 elections. He joined in YSRCP in 2019 and he was announced as MLC.

The Dalit youths had worked as polling agents representing the BSP. Following a complaint by Chinna Raju and Venkata Ratnam, the case was reported in 1997 at Draksharamam police station in East Godavari district.

The then MLA Thota Trimurthulu was one of the accused in the case along with others. However, police concluded the investigation and filed a chargesheet without attaching the caste certificates of the victims. After several hearings, the final verdict was given on Tuesday.