Mangalagiri cops must release Janasena worker immediately: Janasena

The Janasena Political Affairs Committee (PAC) has strongly condemned the arrest of Vasa Srinivasa Rao, Janasena party worker from Bethampudi in Guntur district by Mangalagiri police for criticizing YCP government in social media. The PAC has recalled enormous respects for Janasena Party towards the police department as its president Pawan Kalyan expressed it on several occasions and opined that the police action was a threat to the democratic right of freedom to speech.

The Mangalagiri police have violated the Supreme Court directives not to arrest people over political criticism expressed in social media. The PAC observed that the arrest of Srinivasa Rao based on the complaint by an individual, who was no way connected with the political criticism posted in the social media, was a political vendetta.

The police officials should answer why they were showing the disparity in discharging their duty as no action was initiated till now when Janasena party workers filed a complaint to the cybercrime police against YCP social media wing on August 24 over the posts against Janasena Party president Pawan Kalyan. But the police acted swiftly and arrested Srinivasa Rao, who just made charges against the ruling party. The PAC demanded that Srinivasa Rao should be released immediately and the police should not repeat such arrests in the future. The committee warned that it would organize protests in front of the police stations if the police continued such arrests. It also suggested the Jana Sainiks take precautionary measures before making such criticism in the future.