A land dispute over alleged encroachments in Survey No. 478 at Tanapalli village has turned into a political controversy following the registration of a case against YSRC leader and former TTD chairman Bhumana Karunakar Reddy (Representational Image: DC)

 TIRUPATI: A land dispute over alleged encroachments in Survey No. 478 at Tanapalli village has turned into a political controversy following the registration of a case against YSRC leader and former TTD chairman Bhumana Karunakar Reddy.

The controversy centres on Crime No. 253/2026 and the details of the complainant mentioned in the FIR. Bhumana has alleged that the case was politically motivated and that the FIR details were changed after its registration. Police, however, rejected his allegation that two FIRs had been registered in the case.

According to SP L. Subba Rayudu, the case followed a report submitted by the Vigilance and Enforcement Department regarding the alleged encroachments. Based on the report, the District Collector wrote to the SP seeking criminal action. The SP, in turn, directed the Tiruchanur Circle Inspector (CI) on August 11 to register a case.

Police said the CI identified Cherukuri Venkateswara Prasad, the landowner and affected party, as the person eligible to lodge a complaint. Venkateswara submitted a written complaint on August 12, based on which the case was registered.

Bhumana alleged that the district collector was initially shown as the complainant in the FIR and that the FIR was later removed from the online system. He questioned how a private complaint could subsequently be recorded under the same Crime No. 253/2026. He also alleged that records relating to the timing of the FIR and its submission to the court had been manipulated.

Police said the collector's name was initially entered as the complainant in the CCTNS portal because the case was being registered based on the Collector's forwarding letter. They said the entry was subsequently corrected to show Venkateswara as the complainant after his written complaint was received.

Police maintained that only one case had been registered and that there were neither two FIRs nor two complaints under the same crime number. They said the collector's forwarding letter, the SP's memo and Venkateswara's complaint were all attached to the FIR submitted to the court.

The CI has been asked to explain the lapse in entering the complainant's details during the FIR registration process. Describing the case as an act of political vendetta, Bhumana said he would approach the High Court over the alleged irregularities in the police records.

Tags: