Vijayawada: It was his birthday and the party was on the busy roads of Vijayawada, known as the business capital of Andhra Pradesh. The son of local legislator Bonda Umamaheshwara Rao was caught on camera driving his SUV at high speed, with supporters hanging on the sides, as many bikes and cars with more supporters followed.
Terrified people gave way to the unruly convoy and policemen stood and watched as Ravi Teja wove dangerously through traffic. Friends and supporters stood on the footrest clinging to the white Toyota Fortuner precariously.
Those who followed him on powerful, expensive motorcycles, performed stunts on them. On camera they are seen breaking traffic rules with impunity and every now and also throwing firecrackers on the roads. Ravi Teja and his group allegedly drove so fast that the local journalist who filmed the joy ride says there were moments when his mobile phone camera could not capture them.
Ravi’s father, Bonda Uma Maheshwara Rao, the MLA for Vijaywada from the ruling Telugu Desam Party of Chandrababu Naidu, dismissed it as a “small matter.” “The bacchas (children) just drove from home to a friends house a short distance away,” Mr Rao said about Sunday’s incident. The police in Vijayawada say all the vehicles that participated in the celebration have been fined. It seems to have closed the chapter there.
This is not the first time that a son of Mr Rao has been involved in an incident of dangerous driving. Last year, his older son was stopped by the police on the Vijayawada Guntur Highway for racing bikes with four other people. No case was filed.
