AP High Court Rejects Anticipatory Bail Petition of Dadisetti Raja

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has dismissed the anticipatory bail petition filed by former minister Dadisetti Raja in connection with a journalist murder case. The High Court, after reviewing the petition on Tuesday, ruled against the former minister's plea.

In the case, journalist Katha Satyanarayana, who was working for the Andhra Jyothi newspaper in the Tuni constituency's Thondangi Mandal, was murdered on October 15, 2019. He was reportedly attacked with knives and killed by assailants near Lakshmidevi Cheruvu while on his way to his residence in S. Annavaram.

The family of the deceased accused Dadisetti Raja, a leader of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), of orchestrating the murder. Based on their complaint, Tuni Rural Police registered a case, listing Raja and five others as accused.  However, after Raja assumed ministerial office, the case was reportedly sidelined. In 2023, his name was excluded from the chargesheet. Despite this, Satyanarayana’s brother, advocate Katha Gopalakrishna, persisted in his legal efforts for justice.

During the Yuvagalam Padayatra, Gopalakrishna met with TDP leader Nara Lokesh to seek justice, and Lokesh promised to address the issue if his party came into power. Following the new government’s formation, the police re-registered the case against former minister Dadisetti Raja. In response, Raja approached the High Court seeking anticipatory bail, which has now been denied.