The Cyberabad Police in Telangana suffered a major setback in the ‘TRS MLA poaching case’ after an Anti-Corruption Bureau court late Thursday night declined to give custody of the three persons arrested for allegedly trying to bribe four MLAs to switch sides and join the BJP. The court noted that the police did not produce any evidence that the three people were bribing anyone or any money that was seized. The court also directed the Cyberabad police to first serve the accused a notice under Section 41 of the CrPC, asking them to appear before it for further questioning. Subsequently, temple priest Ramachandra Bharathi alias Satish Sharma (33), seer D Simhayaji (45), and businessman Nanda Kumar (48), who were arrested on Wednesday night from the farmhouse of Tandur MLA P Rohith Reddy in Moinabad, were released Thursday night. The three accused were produced before the ACB court judge at his residence late on Thursday night. The Cyberabad Police on Wednesday night said that MLA Reddy approached them with a complaint that three people allegedly associated with the BJP approached him on September 26. The accused wanted Reddy and MLAs B Harshvardhan Reddy, G Balraju and Rega Kantha Rao to resign from TRS and join the BJP, according to the FIR, and offered Rs 100 crore, work contracts and high positions. Reddy in his complaint mentioned that they were threatened with criminal cases and raids by the Enforcement Directorate and CBI if they turned down the offer. The ACB court’s directive came on a day when the Telangana unit of the BJP approached the Telangana High Court, seeking a free and fair investigation by the CBI. The party also knocked on the doors of the chief electoral officer with a complaint. An investigation officer told indianexpress.com that the court asked the police to follow procedure and serve a notice to the accused under Section 41 of CrPC. “Court directed so since there is no cash seizure in the case. We will seek legal opinion and go forward,” the officer said. When contacted, advocate and BJP activist K Karuna Sagar, responding to the court’s rejection of remand, said the police are under political pressure from the TRS, now renamed Bharat Rashtra Samithi. “There should be some money involved and seized to attract sections under the Prevention of Corruption Act, but when no money is seized then there can be no case at all. The badly scripted and executed drama of the Telangana police under pressure from TRS was rightly discarded by the court,” he said, adding that the BJP has nothing to do with the case. The Cyberabad police have registered a case against the three arrested people under sections 120-B, 171-B read with 171-E, and 506 read with 34 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. According to Karuna Sagar, the police forgot to apply the basic principles “that there is no prima facie case made out when there is no money seized under the PC Act”. “It is a big setback to the much-hyped political drama staged by the TRS,” he added. Meanwhile, the BJP filed a writ petition terming the allegations of an attempt to poach TRS MLAs by the BJP and the FIR as politically motivated. BJP general secretary G Premender Reddy told the court that the party has no faith in the state police and demanded a CBI probe or investigation by a sitting high court judge. He said the FIR is designed to tarnish the BJP’s image. In a representation submitted the Chief Electoral Officer Vikas Raj, BJP leader N Ramchander Rao and party spokesperson Y Rachna Reddy said the TRS has “hatched an evil plan” to manipulate the voters of the Munugode Assembly constituency which goes to polls on November 3. The bypoll was necessitated after sitting MLA Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy quit Congress and joined the BJP to contest again on the latter’s banner. “Even before the police arrived, certain news channels were already present at the farmhouse and telecasting live.The MLA’s complaint is purely politically motivated with an ulterior motive to defame and demoralise the BJP in the ensuing bypoll,” the letter said. It added that BJP believed the MLA’s complaint was a farce and done at the behest of TRS president and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. The party has sought an independent inquiry by the Election Commission to ensure a free and fair election in Munugode. https://twitter.com/KTRTRS/status/1585610061342130176?t=GQRDnofwHwcq_Dp5Itw9Bg&s=19 Meanwhile, TRS party’s working president and minister K T Rama Rao asked party leaders and cadre to not comment or share opinions on the alleged poaching attempt citing the matter is under investigation by Cyberabad police. “Those thieves who were caught red-handed will keep barking as they wish. There is no need for our partymen to take this seriously,” he said in a tweet.
