The Cyberabad police on Thursday night moved the trio accused in the alleged attempt to poach four TRS legislators before the special judge for anti-corruption cases. The trio were moved from the Shamshabad Police Station amid tight security. They were made to sit in a police vehicle, and sources said that it was very likely that they would be produced before the special judge’s residence.
The Cyberabad police booked a case against the three persons who were detained for allegedly attempting to “buy” TRS legislators with inducements such as large sums of cash and important positions and contracts.
The trio — identified as Satish Sharma alias Ramchandra Bharati, a godman, along with Nanda Kumar and D Simhayaji — were booked under Sections 120 - B, 171 - B read with Section 171 - E, 506 read with Section 34 of the India Penal Code and Section 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act of 1989.
According to the FIR, TRS MLA Pilot Rohit Reddy approached the police and stated that Ramchandra Bharati and Nanda Kumar met him, urging him to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for which a sum of ₹ 100 crore was offered. He was encouraged to convince other legislators. Inducements such as contracts and prominent positions in Central government agencies too were offered. As per the FIR, refusal would lead to Enforcement Directorate and Central Bureau of Investigation raids.
However, the special judge for anti-corruption cases late on Thursday night rejected the remand of the trio on grounds that since the Prevention of Corruption Act was invoked, the ACB should have investigated the case.
