Cong leader surrenders after setting aside of clemency

Kurnool, Oct 18 (UNI) Gouru Venkata Reddy, Congress leader and party MLA Charita Reddy's husband, today surrendered before district Superintendent of Police (SP) Malla Reddy as clemency granted to him by former governor Sushilkumar Shinde in August 2004 in a murder case was set aside by the Supreme Court (SC).

Venkata Reddy's plea to not to be sent to jail before submitting another clemency petition, which the apex court had permitted, was was also rejected by the SC yesterday. Following this, Venkata Reddy set out from his native Brahmanakotkur village and surrendered before the SP. He was later shifted to Cherlapalli central prison in Hyderabad.

Venkata Reddy was arrested for the murder of TDP activists, Chinna Rama Subbaiah and Ambi Reddy in 1995, along with 15 others. Kurnool First Class Additional Magistrate court had sentenced him and seven others to life imprisonment. The high court had confirmed life sentence on appeal by Charita Reddy but the SC reduced it to ten years.

In 2004, Charita Reddy had filed a clemency petition after she was elected Congress MLA from Nandikotkur constituency of the district. The governor granted clemency on August 11, 2004.

Eepuru Sudhakar, son of Rama Subbaiah, one of the murdered TDP activists, appealed to the SC challenging clemency and pardon was set aside. The SC, however, said Venkata Reddy could again appeal for clemency. Venkata Reddy filed another petition urging the SC not to send him to jail before he could file another clemency petition but it was rejected.

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