HYDERABAD: The Telangana police on Friday challenged in the High Court, the ACB court’s rejection of its remand application and release of three persons accused of allegedly offering bribes to four TRS MLAs.
The police, represented by DCP Shamshabad, requested the High Court to direct the accused persons- Ramachandra Bharati, Kore Nandu Kumar and D.P.S.K.V.N. Simhayaji — to surrender before the ACB court at Hyderabad, to enable it to accept the remand and send the accused to judicial custody.
Justice Chillakur Sumalatha heard the petition and adjourned the case to Saturday to hear the accused. She said that no further time will be given and the case will be disposed of on Saturday.
She directed the accused not to leave the city for the next 24 hours and that they should furnish their residential addresses to the Cyberabad police commissioner by 6 pm on Friday. The judge said that the three would not contact the de-facto complainant, Tandur MLA P. Rohit Reddy, or try to influence the witnesses.
Advocate-General B.S. Prasad, representing the police, said the ACB court had erred in considering the case. It dealt with the offer of bribes to MLAs, who are public servants, he said.
There was a conspiracy by the accused and criminal intimidation to destabilise the state government, Prasad said.
He said the MLAs were threatened with raids by central agencies. It was a case for punishment of up to seven years under Prevention of Corruption Act.
He submitted a remand copy, which included photocopies of SMS and Whatsapp messages which were sent and received by the accused to third persons.
Justice Sumalatha asked him whether the episode at the farmhouse was a trap or it was incidental. The judge also inquired about spy cameras and other electronic devices arranged in the farmhouse.
In the report, the police said that the gadgets had captured around three-and-a-half hours of conversation of four TRS MLAs with the accused.
Vedula Srinivas, representing the accused, argued that as per Supreme Court guidelines, notices were mandatory before any arrest. He said that as the police had not seized any money, it would not come under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
