BRS MLA Rohith Reddy slams ED for interfering in poachgate probe
The MLA stated that he had appeared before the ED as he had done nothing wrong
Hyderabad: BRS Tandur MLA, Panjugula ‘Pilot’ Rohith Reddy on Sunday alleged that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was trying to implicate him in the poachgate incident at the behest of the BJP.
Rohith Reddy alleged that one of the accused in the case, K. Nanda Kumar, had made a false statement and that he would file a petition with the High Court to pre-empt the ED’s efforts.
Addressing the media at Telangana Bhavan, the MLA questioned how the ED could summon him in poachgate despite it having no connection to the case.
“It was surprising that the ED chose to question the complainant first, rather than the accused,” he said.
Rohith Reddy alleged that the ED questioned Abhishek Avula over Avula’s financial transactions with Reddy’s brother, and on not being able to implicate him, it was now seeking Nanda Kumar’s custody.
“I strongly suspect that the ED officials will get a fabricated statement from Nanda Kumar to implicate me and arrest me as part of their pressure tactics. But, I will not bow down as I have not done anything wrong,” he said.
“There is no money laundering involved for the ED to probe this case. There are no proceedings of crime or even a complaint. This is a deliberate attempt to pressurise me and damage my credibility and reputation in the public at the behest of BJP,” he said.
He said that the ED issued a summons to him but failed to specify the case for which he was being summoned.
“They did not disclose any details on the first day. It was only after I repeatedly asked them on the second day of my interrogation that they revealed that they were questioning me in connection with the MLAs poaching case,” he said.
The MLA stated that he had appeared before the ED as he had done nothing wrong. He juxtaposed it with the failure of BJP leaders B.L. Santosh and Tusshar Vellapally to appear before the SIT for questioning.
“They are evading questioning by taking advantage of technicalities in the legal system. If they have done nothing wrong, why are they evading questioning by the SIT?” Rohith Reddy said.