Hyderabad, May 8 : Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Working President K. T. Rama Rao on Wednesday termed the arrest of party leader Manne Krishank "undemocratic" and demanded his immediate release.

He met Krishank in Chanchalguda Jail, where he was lodged since May 2 after he was arrested and sent to judicial custody for allegedly posting a fake letter of the Osmania University (OU) Chief Warden on the closure of university hostels and messes for the summer vacations and for terming the letter posted by Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on OU hostels' closure as fake.

Rama Rao accused the Congress government of filing a "frivolous" case against Krishank to harass him. Alleging that the man who forged the OU Chief warden's circular is sitting in the Chief Minister's seat while the man who exposed the misdeed was arrested, he demanded that letters be sent for an expert analysis to determine which one is forged.

KTR, as the leader is commonly know, told reporters that if the state government proved that the circular posted by Krishank on social media was fake, then as the BRS Working President, he would go to jail.

'However, if it is proved that the circular posted by Revanth Reddy is forged, is he ready to go to jail'? he asked.

Krishank and OU student Nagender were arrested for allegedly circulating fake news over the closure of OU hostels. The BRS leader was booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including forgery and statements conducing to public mischief after the OU Chief Warden had filed a complaint of forgery of his signature at the OU police station.

Krishank earlier posted two letters on 'X' claiming that the letter posted by the Chief Minister was fake and also posted a similar letter terming it to be genuine.

Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had also slammed BRS leaders for running the propaganda that OU hostels were shut down only after Congress came to power and clarified that the closure notice was issued as per the University almanac.

He had shared a similar notice issued by the Osmania University authorities last year when the BRS was in power. The notice contained information on the closure of hostels due to summer vacation and also mentioned that the hostels were being closed due to an acute shortage of power and water.

The controversy erupted after students complained of water and electricity shortages on the campus. Subsequently, the Chief Warden issued a notice that hostels would be closed due to summer vacation. The notice also mentions power and water shortages as reasons.

Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka, however, claimed that there was no water scarcity or power disruption on the campus and that the Chief Warden's statement was related to summer vacation.

/IANS