The Cyberabad police on Thursday filed a felony case in opposition to three individuals who have been detained from a farmhouse in Hyderabad on Wednesday night time with a “enormous amount of money” for allegedly attempting to poach 4 Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) lawmakers into the Bharatiya Janata Celebration (BJP).
Hours later, the state BJP moved the Telangana Excessive court docket searching for instructions to switch the police case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Alternatively, it sought the structure of a particular investigation group (SIT) to hold out a good probe into the matter. The social gathering has denied any try and “purchase MLAs” saying the raid was “stage-managed”.
The FIR was lodged based mostly on a criticism lodged by TRS MLA Pilot Rohit Reddy — one of many 4 MLAs allegedly lured with enormous money — at Moinabad police station underneath Part 120-B (felony conspiracy), 171-B r/w 171-E 506 r/w 34 (providing bribe for electoral good points) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Part 8 of Prevention of Corruption Act,1988. HT has seen a duplicate of the FIR.
The three accused – Nanda Kumar, proprietor of Deccan Satisfaction Resort in Hyderabad; Swami Ramachandra Bharati alias S Satish Sharma from Faridabad; and Simha Yajulu from Tirupati, have been but to be produced earlier than court docket for judicial remand on the time this report was revealed.
On Wednesday night time, a police group led commissioner Stephen Raveendra had carried out a raid at a farmhouse in Aziznagar, on the outskirts of Hyderabad and detained three individuals whereas they have been attempting to lure TRS MLAs Rega Kantha Rao (Pinapaka), Guvvala Balaraju (Achampet) and Beeram Harshvardhan Reddy (Kollapur) and Pilot Rohit Reddy (Tandur) into the BJP.
“It was the 4 MLAs who gave us details about the covert operation. They advised us that they have been contacted by sure individuals who requested them to defect from the TRS and be a part of the BJP. In return, they have been supplied distinguished posts, contracts and big money,” Raveendra advised reporters after the trio was detained.
Within the FIR, the MLA Reddy alleged that Nanda Kumar and Ramachandra Bharati have been each from the BJP and had requested him to resign from the TRS to contest the following elections from their social gathering. For this, the duo supplied Reddy ₹100 crore in addition to civil contracts of the Central authorities and different advantages on the Centre with financial advantages, the criticism states.
“On October 26, 2022, the accused once more contacted him and knowledgeable that they may arrive within the afternoon hours to his farmhouse situated at Aziz Nagar, for negotiations and likewise knowledgeable him to mobilize another TRS MLAs for providing them bribe of ₹50 crore every to hitch BJP,” the FIR learn.
Reddy additional alleged that the accused had threatened him saying that if he refused to hitch BJP, they might foist felony instances in opposition to him and raids can be carried out by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The BJP’s plea within the excessive court docket searching for a switch of the case or formation of the SIT got here in response to the allegations within the FIR. The petition was filed by state BJP basic secretary Gujjula Premender Reddy.
Stating that the FIR was “completely biased and unfair, registered with a sole intention to border the leaders of the BJP and harm its status”, Premender Reddy mentioned the allegations have been made within the run as much as the bypoll to Munugode meeting seat — slated to be held on November 3.
“The TRS has been attempting to disrupt the marketing campaign of the BJP. The criticism is politically motivated and was made with a motive to defame and demoralise the BJP within the by-election on the behest of chief minister Okay Chandrashekar Rao,” the BJP chief’s plea added.
On Thursday, the TRS’s social media wing shared photos on social media of Union tourism minister G Kishan Reddy with one of many accused and different social gathering leaders — in an try and show affiliation between them.
Reddy, nevertheless, refuted the allegations saying neither he, nor his social gathering, had made any try and poach the 4 TRS legislators. He added that it was an try and defame the BJP.
“What’s the want for us to buy 4 MLAs by spending ₹400 crore? How can the defection of 4 MLAs to the BJP assist the social gathering win the Munugode by-election? All that is being finished to defame the social gathering,” he mentioned.
Owing to his publish, individuals typically take photos with him, Reddy mentioned, including that this didn’t imply he had any affiliation with the accused.
He asserted that if any MLA from any social gathering desires to hitch the BJP, the management would first insist on his resignation. “There is no such thing as a want for the social gathering to supply cash to any MLA,” he mentioned.
State BJP president Bandi Sanjay alleged that the “total poaching drama was scripted and enacted at Pragati Bhavan” — chief minister KCR’s camp workplace — to defame the BJP forward of the Munugode bypoll.
Earlier within the day, TRS leaders and cadres held demonstrations in several elements of Telangana, together with Munugode, and burnt effigies of the BJP for allegedly attempting to poach their MLAs.
Later within the night, TRS working president Okay T Rama Rao issued an announcement asking the social gathering leaders to not make any statements or feedback on the difficulty because it was now sub judice. “These canines, who have been caught red-handed, proceed to bark. Allow us to not hassle to reply to them,” he tweeted.