Telangana minister Konda Surekha (left) and her former OSD Sumanth.
Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Monday, August 31, refused to shield Sumanth, the former Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to state minister Konda Surekha, from arrest in a case where he stands accused of assaulting a businessman and demanding Rs 10 crore from him.
Justice J Sreenivas Rao declined to pass any interim orders in the case, registered at the Jubilee Hills Police Station, after hearing submissions from the additional public prosecutor. The matter has been listed for further hearing on Tuesday, September 1.
Advocate P Vamsheedhar Reddy, appearing for Sumanth, told the court that other accused in the case had already been taken into custody and voiced apprehension that his client too could be arrested. He said Sumanth was willing to cooperate with the investigation and sought interim protection on that basis.
The additional public prosecutor opposed the plea, telling the court that the complainant, businessman Gongidi Harikrishna, had suffered serious injuries allegedly at the hands of Sumanth and his associates.
The prosecution also brought to the court’s notice that the inspector of the Jubilee Hills Police Station had since been suspended over the delay in registering the case against Sumanth, a detail pointing to the scrutiny the handling of the complaint has already drawn within the police force.
This post was last modified on September 1, 2026 12:51 pm