Telangana HC pulls up cops over delay in probe against ex MLA’s family

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court has questioned the delay in the investigation of a case registered against former Bhupalpally MLA Gandra Venkataramana Reddy, his wife Gandra Jyothi, and son Gandra Gautham Reddy at the Bhupalpally police station in Jayashankar Bhupalpally district.

Court unhappy

The court expressed displeasure that a charge sheet had not been filed even though the FIR was registered in January.

During the hearing on Tuesday, November 11, Justice Jukanti Anil Kumar remarked that investigations do not seem to move forward when senior officials are involved. He sought an explanation from the police for the prolonged delay.

The case was based on a private complaint alleging that the Gandra family threatened government officials and undertook the construction of a temple and a commercial complex on two acres of land classified as a tank bed area in Survey No. 209 at Kompalli village.

The accused had approached the High Court seeking to quash the FIR.

Bench questions Collector’s decision

The bench also questioned how the District Collector sanctioned Rs 2.5 crore from the District Mineral Foundation Trust funds for the temple’s construction merely on the MLA’s recommendation.

During the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel submitted that the complainant had since passed away and the investigation was still incomplete. The Additional Public Prosecutor, however, maintained that the probe was ongoing but delayed due to non-receipt of relevant documents from the concerned officials.

In response, the judge remarked that if the Collector himself is involved, the documents may never come and questioned why the police had not sought directions from the court to obtain them.

The court refused to allow the withdrawal of the petition and adjourned the hearing to November 18.