Congress member of Parliament Lagadapati Rajagopal, a strong proponent of a unified Andhra Pradesh, sent dozens of police teams on a wild goose chase after slipping out of a government hospital in Vijayawada, his home constituency in coastal Andhra, on Sunday night.
Fifteen hours later, he resurfaced at the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) in Hyderabad, a move many believe is aimed at provoking Telangana supporters.
Rajagopal, on an indefinite fast, was among the first group of MPs from the state to quit in protest against the Centre’s decision in favour of the creation of Telangana.
When his condition deteriorated, the government shifted him to a government hospital in Vijayawada. Complaining of lack of facilities at the hospital, the MP demanded that he should be shifted to NIMS, Hyderabad, and wrote a letter to governor ND Tiwari to plead his case.
But the government wanted to keep him away from the state capital fearing a law and order situation.
On Sunday, the drama began around 10.30 pm when Rajagopal stepped out of the hospital in Vijayawada to speak to the media. Even as around 200 policemen looked on, he got into a Qualis waiting at the main gate and left.
A harried state government sent dozens of police teams in his pursuit but he was untraceable. At about 1.30 pm on Monday, the MP again tricked the police teams to enter the NIMS.
According to eye-witnesses, Rajagopal arrived at NIMS in an autorickshaw, ran into the acute medical care centre, jumped into a vacant bed and pretended to be “unconscious”.
Shocked at how Rajagopal slipped past policemen, first at the hospital in Vijayawada and then check-posts along the road from Vijayawada to Hyderabad, the state government has ordered an enquiry into the episode.
The government also suspended six senior police officials, including Vijayawada police commissioner Rajendranath Reddy, an assistant commissioner of police, two inspectors and two sub-inspectors. “We are enquiring into the connivance of police officers in helping Rajagopal escape from the hospital,” chief minister K Rosaiah said on Monday.
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