Secunderabad violence mastermind booked for over two dozen charges 

HYDERABAD

Avula Subba Rao, director of a clutch of centres of Sai Defence Academy in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and chief conspirator in the violence that rocked the Secunderabad railway station on June 17 has been arrested by police along with three others. His motive was to mount pressure on the government so that the Agnipath scheme would be suspended, the Government Railway Police which arrested him said on Saturday.

His coaching centres were making huge profits in the name of Common Entrance Examination (CEE), and with Agnipath scheme, Mr. Subba Rao felt that there was a risk of shutting down his centres, the police claimed.

For the large-scale violence and arson, that also resulted in the death of a young Army job aspirant from Warangal district, he was booked under 26 sections – under the IPC, the provisions under the Railway Act and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.

Informing of his Friday arrest, along with his three associates – Malla Reddy, Shiva Kumar and Beesi Reddy – the GRP released a statement on Saturday.

The police explained that Mr. Subba Rao, who worked as a nursing assistant in the Army till 2011, set up the Sai Defence Academy at his native village Narsaraopet, Guntur, in 2014. Familiar with the recruitment process, he along with his staff targetted aspirants at various physical fitness and selection centres and grabbed them early in the name of preparation for medical tests and guaranteed selection. The Academy over the years also grew in size with multiple centres set up in various parts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

As a procedure, the Academy collected original certificates of the candidates at the time of admission and also executed a conditional bond worth ₹3 lakh, which was to be paid after securing the job to get the certificates released. The Academy got student aspirants from several southern States.

In 2019 too, the Academy trained several aspirants. But owing to COVID-19, the written exam was postponed several times, for which the prospective students had also approached the Army Recruiting Offices and submitted representations.