SIT begins investigation into MLAs poaching case

HYDERABAD: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) conducting the investigation into the alleged TRS MLAs’ poaching case on Tuesday issued a look-out notice to Dr Kottilil Narayan Jaggu alias Jaggu Swamy and Tushar Vellapally, founder-president, Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) of Kerala.

Both of them had failed to respond to the summons issued to them on November 16 by the SIT, asking them to appear before the investigating officer on Monday.

Officials were exploring legal options to issue look-out notices to BJP general secretary B.L. Santosh who also failed to appear before the SIT on Monday.

On Monday, the officials had issued a lookout notice for Dr Jaggu, who works with the Amrutha Institute of Medical Sciences in Ernakulam. Only B. Srinivas, a lawyer from Karimnagar, who is believed to be a close associate of BJP state president Bandi Sanjay, had appeared before the SIT and was grilled for nearly eight hours on Monday. He was questioned for the second consecutive day on Tuesday.  

It was earlier stated that advocate Srinivas had booked tickets for D.P.S.K.P.N. Simhayaji, pontiff from Tirupati and one of the three accused in the case, on October 26. Srinivas was a neighbour of Sanjay and it was alleged that he was also in touch with another accused, Kore Nanda Kumar. Srinivas had also stayed with Nanda Kumar and Simhayaji at the same place in Delhi on October 14-15, sources said.

While talking to the media after his questioning on Tuesday, Srinivas said that he is not connected to this poaching case. “He (Simhayaji) is my guru and as a bhakt, I had booked the tickets when he asked me to. Booking a ticket cannot be a crime,” he said. When asked why he was on a half-an-hour call with Nanda Kumar, another accused in the case, on October 14, he refused to comment and left.  

The SIT officials questioned Srinivas about his connections with Nanda Kumar and Ramachandra Bharati. He initially denied having any links with them and when confronted with the evidence of call data records (CDR), he remained evasive.