Nellore: The ongoing police investigation into cricket betting took a new turn with the police serving notices on Nellore Rural and City YSRC legislators Kotamreddy Sridhar Reddy and Dr P. Anilkumar Reddy to appear before the superintendent of police on August 22 to record their statements.
The notices were served under Section 160 of the Criminal Procedure Code which enables any investigating officer to call anybody to appear in person in order to be acquainted of the facts and circumstances of the case.
Close associates of both the legislators have been booked in betting cases and their statements led the police to serve notices to the legislators when they were in the Nandyal constituency on Sunday campaigning for YSRC nominee Shilpa Mohan Reddy. The timing of the notices evoked much comment.
The Nellore police had registered 21 cases and arrested 115 persons involved in cricket betting on August 3. The suicide of a couple and their son at Rameswaram on July 1, allegedly because of threats by bookies to pay the amount due to them, led superintendent of police P.H.D. Ramakrishna to crack the whip against the betting mafia.
Prominent among those held were YSRC floor leader in Nellore Municipal Corpo-ration P. Roopkumar Yadav, a close relative of MLA Dr Anilkumar Yadav. and YSRC leader Biradavolu Srikanth Reddy who is linked closely with Mr Sridhar Reddy.
