BRS Ex-MLA Rohith, TD MP Mahesh, 4 Arrested For Drug Use

According to Chevella deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Yogesh Goutham, those who tested positive include Rohith Reddy, his brother Ritesh Reddy, MP Mahesh, a Delhi-based real estate businessman, Namit Sharma, an advocate from Bengaluru, Kaushik Ravi, and a businessman, Arjun Reddy, as per official records.

Police said the exact connection between the accused and the attendees is being verified. But a senior official from EAGLE said that Eluru MP Mahesh had taken Namit Sharma to the party.

Based on a tip-off, the EAGLE team raided the farmhouse around 9.30 pm on Friday. When the cops first announced from outside that they were going to raid the place, two rounds were fired, the DCP said. To prevent the police from entering, Namit Sharma allegedly opened fire using a German revolver, allegedly owned by Ritesh Reddy, who had a licence for the weapon, police said.

Following this, the SOT and Moinabad police were called for backup support. Later, police teams managed to control the situation and subjected the accused to an instant urine-based drug test.

“Our teams immediately gathered around the accused and took away the weapon. We have personnel trained to deal with people armed with weapons,” EAGLE SP Giridhar said.

While five of the six accused had tested positive, Mahesh had initially tested negative during the urine test. He was later subjected to a blood test along with the others, where he tested positive, SP Giridhar, who was leading the operation, said.

“Difference in time stamps may have yielded different results,” the SP said.

The others present at the party included: M. Ramesh, V. Shravan Kumar, Nallapaneni Vijaya Krishna, R. Priyanka Reddy and Silvery Sarath Kumar, Rohith's personal assistant. While they have tested negative for drugs, officials from the EAGLE said they have also been named in the FIR.

Police said that the contraband was allegedly procured by Kaushik Ravi from an unidentified source in Shimla. The quantity of the contraband seized is about 0.26 grams (260 milligrams). It was recovered from Sarath, who was carrying the contraband in two packets in his pockets, after it was allegedly given to the consumers. During questioning, Sarath allegedly admitted to having the cocaine in his possession and produced the packets from his pocket. Consequently, Kaushik admitted to having bought the drugs for `15,000.

Police are currently working on identifying the source of supply and how the transactions between the two had taken place. The substance was also tested on the spot using a drug detection field test kit, which indicated the presence of cocaine.

The charges added to the FIR include Sections 8c, 22(a), 27 and 29 of the NDPS Act, 25(1-B)(a) and 30 of the Arms Act, 34(a) of the Telangana Excise Act, and 109,131 r/w 3(5) of the BNS. Police have also collected the gunshot residue (GSR) of the accused and are working on identifying their criminal history.

"Our teams are working on collecting data related to the criminal histories of the accused from other states, too," an official said.

Apart from the cocaine, police have also recovered one 0.32 revolver, four empty cartridges and one live cartridge, a large quantity of foreign liquor, including 48 beer bottles, two opened Don Julio tequila, Chivas Regal and Belvedere vodka.

Later, police produced the accused before a magistrate and granted a station bail to Putta Mahesh and the others. However, Rohith, Ritesh and Namit, who were booked under the Arms Act, were not granted bail. “Namit opened fire using the gun. Ritesh owned it. So we have made them stay back and will be investigating them further,” DCP Yogesh said.

However, an EAGLE official highlighted that the quantity of the contraband seized is categorised as a small quantity, which would affect the seriousness and punishment in the case. “As the drugs recovered from them after consumption are less than two grams, the punishment would be one year of imprisonment. The number of years would have been higher if it were a commercial quantity,” the official said.

Police also said that the luxury farmhouse was often used for personal parties and not commercial purposes. This party was also a regular get-together, not for a specific occasion. However, a senior official said that all the accused own several properties around Nanakramguda and Manikonda areas and were likely here to crack some property deals.

Speaking of the source of information, contradicting versions had emerged from the police. While some officials said that the raid was based on specific intelligence inputs and surveillance, others said it was a routine check that led to a drug bust.