Hyderabad: Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP from Andhra Pradesh, Putta Mahesh Kumar, who was arrested after testing positive for drugs during a raid at Moinabad farmhouse on Sunday, March 15, has reportedly been granted station bail in view of the ongoing Parliament session.
However, he has received a show-cause notice from the party’s state president, Palla Srinivasa Rao, saying the incident has caused “significant damage to the party’s reputation” and asked him to stay away from party activities till they receive a detailed report on the matter.
The MP was asked to give a written explanation within five days regarding the allegations made against him, based on which the party leadership will take any further action against him.
Meanwhile, others arrested along with him, namely former Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLA Rohith Reddy and former MLA from Jaipur, Namit Sharma, are being presented before the magistrate.
On Saturday, Elite Action Group for Drug Law Enforcement (EAGLE) raided a farmhouse at Moinabad after receiving information about a party being held at the farmhouse without permission.
Superintendent of Police, EAGLE team, R Giridhar, said the police had taken 11 people into custody during the raid. Five individuals initially tested positive during the on-site urine test, and the other six tested positive the next morning through a blood sample.
The attendees of the party were mostly influential people, including the political leaders, an advocate, six real estate businessmen and a woman, Chevella Deputy Commissioner of Police said.
A case has been registered under sections 8(c), 22(A), 27, 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act; sections 25(1-B) (a) and 30 of the Arms Act; section 34(a) of the Telangana State Excise Act; and sections 109, 131 read with 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) of Moinabad police station.
According to a release by EAGLE, the Cyberabad Narcotics Police Station (CNPS) of the EAGLE Force, in coordination with Moinabad Police and Special Operations Team of Shamshabad and Chevella conducted a raid on Rohith Reddy’s farmhouse in Aziz Nagar, Moinabad.
The release states that when police announced their presence after surrounding the farmhouse, a gunshot was fired from inside the farmhouse towards the police team.
After the police warned the occupants to stop any such action, the firing stopped, allowing the police to enter and secure the premises.
Later, the police found a person holding a revolver in his hand near the washroom and identified him as Namith Sharma. Another person, who stood beside Namith, was found holding empty cartridge cases and was identified as Silveri Sharath Kumar.
Cocaine weighing 0.26 grams was recovered from Silvari Sharath Kumar, who confessed to procuring the drug through Koushik Ravi, an advocate, the release stated.
Apart from Rohith Reddy, Mahesh Kumar, Namith Sharma, Silveri Sharath Kumar, and Koushik Ravi, the accused have been identified as Panjugula Ritesh Reddy, Tiruveedula Arjun Reddy, Nallapaneni Vijaya Krishna and Moravenni Ramesh, all businessmen.
Varamachneni Sravan Kumar, a private employee has also been identified as an accused along with a woman Priyanka.
