Pastor Praveen’s memorial meeting on March 24

Rajamahendravaram: Former MP GV Harsha Kumar alleged that the death of Pastor Praveen Pagadala was not caused by a road accident but was “clearly a murder.” He claimed that both the State and Central governments were aware of who was responsible for the killing and the reasons behind it.

Speaking to the media at Rajiv Gandhi College on Wednesday, Harsha Kumar criticised remarks allegedly made by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu stating that Praveen died in an accident while riding a bike under the influence of alcohol. Such comments, he said, amounted to influencing the court while the matter was still under judicial consideration. He questioned how the CM could make such statements when the case was pending before the court and asked why the government had failed to file a counter affidavit in court even after 11 months since Praveen Pagadala’s death.

Harsha Kumar announced that a memorial meeting for Praveen Pagadala would be held on March 24 at the Lutheran Church premises in the locality. He appealed to authorities not to create any obstacles to the event and said necessary permissions would be sought by submitting the required documents.

The former MP also questioned who would take responsibility for the recent milk adulteration incident in Rajamahendravaram, alleging that such incidents were occurring due to government inefficiency. He said the adulteration incident took place because of inadequate supervision by food safety officials.