VISAKHAPATNAM: The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Thursday granted bail to senior Telugu Desam leader and former Union minister P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju in a case filed by Nellimarla police of Vizianagaram district.
The police had booked a case against the former Union minister and his supporters when they obstructed endowments minister Vellampalli Srinivas from laying the foundation stone for carrying repairs to Sri Kodanda Rama Swamy Temple atop Bodikonda hill at Ramatheertham in Nellimarla of Vizianagaram district on December 22.
Ashok Gajapathi Raju is a hereditary trustee of this temple and he objected to his name missing from the plaque of the foundation stone being laid.
Police present at the temple site arrested the former Union minister, took him away from the spot and booked a case against him. Raju filed a petition in the High Court against the police case, following which he has been granted bail on Thursday.
In another development, a contempt case filed by Raju was also taken up by the court on Friday. Executive officer (EO) Venkateswara Rao of Manasas Trust and manager Ravishankar of IDFC First Bank, Daba Gardens, Visakhapatnam, appeared before the Judge and offered their unconditional apologies.
