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Cash for vote: Sandra held
The Telangana Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), which is probing the cash-for-vote case involving Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MLA A Revanth Reddy, on Monday arrested another MLA Sandra Venkata Veeraiah, in connection with the case. Veeraiah\'s arrest comes as a major blow for the TDP which had decided to petition President Pranab Mukherjee, seeking action against the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) for allegedly indulging in phone tapping.
Hyderabad: The Telangana Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), which is probing the cash-for-vote case involving Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MLA A Revanth Reddy, on Monday arrested another MLA Sandra Venkata Veeraiah, in connection with the case. Veeraiah's arrest comes as a major blow for the TDP which had decided to petition President Pranab Mukherjee, seeking action against the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) for allegedly indulging in phone tapping.
The TDP leaders are learnt to have informed the party national president N Chandrababu Naidu, who is on a visit to Japan, about Sandra’s arrest. Speculation is rife that the ACB would now issue notices to few more TDP MLAs in the case. However, the ACB is keeping its cards close to its chest about its next moves.
It is learnt that the ACB would move a quash petition against another accused Jimmy, who is said to have introduced Sebastian to nominated MLA Elvis Stephenson. Jimmy, who was also summoned by the ACB, did not appear before them and had approached the court saying that his name be removed from the witnesses list as he had no role to play in the episode.
Sandra was questioned by the ACB for about seven hours but reportedly failed to get a proper reply from the MLA on several issues with regard to the cash-for-vote scam. At the end of the day they finally decided to arrest him for further investigation. According to ACB sources, the MLA deliberately refused to respond to questions, including those related to his phone conversations with Anglo-Indian MLA Elvis Stephenson and the conversation between Stephenson and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu as well as the calls made to Mathaiah and others.
Sources informed that his arrest and questioning is likely to lead to more clues and several other members of the TDP may be questioned.On knowing about the arrest of Sandra, the Telangana TDP leaders rushed to ACB office and condemned the arrest of the party MLA Sandra Venkata Veeraiah. In Khammam, Sandra’s followers burnt effigies of KCR. Sandra’s advocates claimed that the MLA had fully cooperated with the ACB.
Speaking to media, party senior leader R Chandrasekhar Reddy alleged that the name of the Dalit MLA, elected from the Sattuapalli Assembly constituency in Khammam, had been dragged into the scam under a political conspiracy hatched by Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao. The TDP MLAs, who revolted against KCR leadership, have been targeted and were being harassed.
