Ahead of the Munugode bypolls, the Cyberabad police on Wednesday raided a farmhouse in Aziz Nagar on the outskirts of Hyderabad, and detained three persons for allegedly trying to lure four TRS legislators with large sums of money and important posts and positions.
The raid was conducted late in the evening with a phalanx of policemen reaching the spot.
Speaking to the media, Cyberabad Commissioner of Police Stephen Ravindra said that the accused came to Hyderabad from Delhi. The main accused has been identified as Ramchandra Bharati (33) alias Satish Sharma. Mr Ravindra said that he is a godman associated with a temple in Faridabad, and has been living in the national capital. The others are D. Simhayaji (45), a Peethadipati from Tirupati, and Nandakumar (48), a businessman, from Saroornagar.
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Mr. Stephen Ravindra, who visited the farmhouse in Aziznagar of Moinabad mandal in Ranga Reddy, said the police had received information from the ruling party MLAs that an attempt was being made to offer them huge cash and promise of contracts by some unknown godmen and a city-based hotelier.
The four MLAs – Guvvala Balaraju (Achampet), Rega Kantha Rao (Pinapaka), Beeram Harshavardhan Reddy (Kollapur) and Panjugula Rohit Reddy (Tandur) in visuals aired on television channels are seen sitting in the company of two godmen identified as Faridabad-based Ramachandra Bharati alias Satish Sharma, Simhayajulu (Tirupati) and Nanda Kumar, a hotelier from the city.
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Curiously enough, Kantha Rao, Harshvardhan Reddy and Rohit Reddy, won the last elections on Congress tickets and had defected to the TRS. The police, it is learnt, raided the farmhouse and nabbed the Swamijis and another person. It is believed that huge cash was also seized from the farm house.
The three MLAs – Balraju, Rega Kantha Rao and Harshvardhan Reddy drove straight from the farm house to Pragati Bhavan, the Chief Minister’s camp office. Mr. Rohit Reddy later joined them at the camp office after lodging a complaint at Moinabad police station. The three accused were shifted to Moinabad police station under tight security.
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Protesting what it called conspiracy by BJP to lure its MLAs, TRS Ministers - Gangula Kamalakar, A. Indrakaran Reddy and V. Srinivas Goud staged a flash sit-in on NH-65 Hyderabad-Vijayawada at Choutuappal holding up vehicular traffic.
While leaving the farmhouse in a vehicle, Mr. Guvvala Balaraju said TRS leaders would not succumb to the lure of money. “We have exposed the conspiracy to buy us through money,” he said without naming any political parties. “We are the footsoldiers of KCR and will not be swayed by money,” he said, avoiding any further information. Mr. Kantha Rao said they had reached the farm house around 5 p.m.
Meanwhile, security around Pragathi Bhavan was beefed up on Wednesday night given the development, perhaps in anticipation of protests and so as not to take any chances.
Published - October 27, 2022 01:11 am IST
