Hyderabad: An FIR was filed by the IS Sadan police against Telangana High Court senior lawyer Vedula Venkataramana and Malakpet AIMIM MLA Ahmed bin Abdullah Balala after a man hailing from a Scheduled Castes (SC) community filed a complaint accusing them of harassment and cheating over a land dispute.
The complainant, Dr. Chintala Yadagiri, a social activist, stated that the advocate promised to get him and his family members a favourable judgement from the state High Court regarding a disputed parcel of land in the Bowrampet area in exchange for Rs 7 crores in cash, “falsely claiming that it was for the benefit of High Court Judges.”
Yadagiri said that he paid the amount in two installments of Rs 4 crore and Rs 3 crore respectively within a gap of 30 days and alleged that when the court didn’t deliver a judgement favourable to him, he demanded lawyer Venkataramana to return the money paid by him and threatened of legal action if he failed to do so.
Following this, the complainant claimed that the advocate only made a partial repayment of Rs 1 crore in two installments of Rs. 50 lakh each.
In the complaint, Yadagiri also alleged that the advocate and the counsel intentionally colluded with the opposing parties of the case for huge amounts of money and caused damage to his case.
He further alleged that Vedula Venkataramana resorted to intimidation tactics, involving individuals with muscle power, and threats were issued to him “causing mental agony,” the complaint read.
Yadagiri also accused the advocate of insulting him and other members of his community using “derogatory language related to caste.”
He alleged that the advocate warned of dire consequences, threatened to harm his family, and mentioned involving “hired killers” if any complaint was filed.
AIMIM MLA issued threats: Complainant
The complainant further accused Ahmed Bin Abdulla Balala of “acting in collusion” with the advocate and instigating threats and harassment.
“The MLA is said to be assisted by an individual named Jai Kumar and a gang of Old City AIMIM goondas,” the complainant said.
Yadagiri alleged that he was constantly followed by unknown individuals in cars and bikes, leading to concerns about potential harm to his life.
Case filed under SC/ST Atrocities (POA) Act
Yadagiri sought immediate action against Vedula Venkataramana for the refund of the balance amount and proposed the filing of a case under the SC/ST Atrocities (POA) Act.
He also requested necessary police protection due to the “perceived imminent threat” to his life and property.
Subsequently, the IS Sadan police filed a case under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 506 (criminal intimidation), 504 (Intentional insult) IPC & section 3(2)(Va), 3(1)(r) of SC, ST POA Act 1989.
Consequently, the case file has been transferred to Central Crime Station (CCS), Detective Department (DD) Hyderabad for further investigation, the police stated.
