Hyderabad: The three BJP-linked persons who were arrested by the Cyberabad police were on Thursday produced before the Principal Special Judge for SPE and ACB Cases at his house in L. B Nagar. The accused were taken to the judge late in the night, who after going through the case details reportedly asked the police to issue notices under 41 CrPC to the accused and to investigate the case.
The three accused persons were arrested by the Cyberabad police a day earlier from Moinabad for allegedly trying to bribe four MLAs from the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in order to get them to join the BJP. On Thursday, the court observed that Section 8 of Prevention of Corruption Act-1988 is not applicable in the case and rejected the appeal of the police to remand the three persons.
A priest from Faridabad Delhi – Ramachandra Bharati alias Satish Sharma, a Hyderabad based businessman – Nanda Kumar, and Simhayaji Swamy of Tirupathi were taken into custody by the Cyberabad police on Wednesday night from a farm house. They are all believed to be linked to the BJP.
According to Cyberabad Police Commissioner M Stephen Raveendra, the four TRS MLAs, Rega Kantha Rao, Guvvala Balaraju, Beeram Harshvardhan Reddy and Pilot Rohit Reddy, told the police that they were contacted by certain people, claiming they were from the BJP. The MLAs claimed that they were asked to defect from the TRS and to the BJP.
The development comes just days before the Munugode by-poll, which will be held on November 3. The three accused reportedly offered the TRS MLAs prominent posts, contracts and huge cash following which a raid was conducted on the farmhouse.
Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) Tandur MLA Rohith Reddy on whose complaint the police booked a case against the three persons, claimed he was threatened with ED and Central Bureau of Investigation raids if he did not agree to join the BJP. He further stated he was asked to accept Rs 100 crores and other prominent posts in government in addition to central government civil contracts.
The FIR issued by the Cyberabad police based on his complaint reads, “On September 26 one Ramachandra Bharati alias Satish Sharma native of Delhi and one Nanda Kumar resident of Hyderabad both of them belonging to BJP met the complainant (Rohith Reddy) and negotiated with him to not to contest as the candidate from TRS party and to join in BJP by resigning from TRS party and to contest in the next elections from BJP for which they offered him an amount of Rs.100 Crores (Hundred Crores) and also offered to give Central Government civil contract works and other High Central Government positions for monetary benefits and lured him to join in BJP,”
It further stated, “They also stated that if he has not joined BJP there will be criminal cases and raids by E.D./CBI and the Telangana Government led by TRS party will be toppled by them. Since the above inducement of bribe by a political party to the complainant is unethical, undemocratic and encourages corruption and polluting the Politics, he decided not to entertain such unethical practice by the above persons.”
The police booked a case under Sections 120-B, 171-B r/w 171-E 506 r/w 34 IPC & Sec 8 of Prevention of Corruption Act-1988 and are investigating.
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