Date:05/07/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/07/05/stories/2009070554650600.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Twist to TDP MLA episode

Special Correspondent

5 students hailing from Kerala accuse him of sexual harassment

Students lodge written complaint with Sabitha Reddy
“Political conspiracy,” says T.V. Rama Rao

HYDERABAD: The episode involving Telugu Desam MLA T.V. Rama Rao took a new turn on Saturday when five students of the nursing college lodged a written complaint with Andhra Pradesh Home Minister P. Sabitha Indra Reddy that the legislator indeed made attempts to outrage their modesty.

The MLA is chairman and managing director of Spruha College of Nursing, Nidadavole, in which the five girls, all belonging to Kerala, are pursuing B.Sc. Nursing course. They submitted a detailed complaint that was also signed by their parents, some of whom accompanied them to the Minister. They were led by Shibu Chacko of Kerala-based J. K. Associates, the agency which helped them get admission to the college.

Amid a high-voltage drama in the Secretariat, the students rushed to the Minister’s chamber from their car to avoid the battery of television and still photographers. Two of the students broke down in the Minister’s presence while narrating how the MLA made overtures to them in the college hostel. The Minister assured them that she would refer their complaint to the Crime Investigation Department (CID), which was already probing the case. Mr. Rama Rao, however, told journalists in Yashoda Hospital where he is admitted that the charges of sexual harassment made against him by the students were part of a “political conspiracy” hatched against him by the ruling Congress party. He claimed that the students were forced by the Congress leaders to lodge complaint against him.

Threat to life

Alleging that there was threat to his life, Mr. Rama Rao asserted that he was prepared to face any consequences. He recalled that a few students were already handed over their transfer certificates and other documents.