The ruling TDP on Thursday suspended its Sathyavedu MLA Koneti Adimulam following allegations of sexual assault raised by a woman party worker from the same constituency in Chittoor district.
TDP state party president Palle Srinivas Rao suspended the MLA immediately after the party activist complained to chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu in a letter and also held a press conference in Hyderabad where she also shared some video footage of Adimulam molesting her as evidence. The face of the woman in the video footage was blurred.
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Within a few hours, the party suspended him by issuing a single line press statement.
The video was shot with a pen camera recorder secretly by the woman party activist who accused the MLA of sexually assaulting her thrice and also threatening to harm her family if she revealed about his misdeeds. The woman said the MLA had been harassing for the past few months after getting her contact number from party records.
“Initially, he called me for campaigning and other party related works but soon it was clear his intentions were not honourable. He would call me continuously, sometimes 100 times during the night… He even called me to a hotel in Tirupati and forced himself upon me,” the victim said, adding she was sexually assaulted thrice by the MLA.
She also said the MLA was a repeat offender and there were other women who faced similar plight as her. She said she came forward with her complaint after his behaviour became intolerable. Adimulam had won the 2019 elections on a YSRCP ticket but switched parties just before the elections after YS Jagan Mohan Reddy refused him a ticket.
Given the seriousness of the allegations against him TDP suspended the MLA first before seeking an explanation from him. However, the MLA has claimed the video footage was doctored one.
