1 cr meant for distribution in Dubbak election seized from BJP sympathisers

According to the police, acting on a tip-off, the Hyderabad Commissioner’s Task Force caught Srinivas Rao, a Chandanagar-based businessman, along with his driver T Ravi Kumar, near Begumpet flyover while they were carrying the cash in a car.

Hyderabad: In yet another embarrassing episode for the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the Dubbak bypoll, Surabhi Srinivas Rao, brother-in-law of BJP candidate M Raghunandan Rao was arrested right in the heart of the city on Sunday with unaccounted cash of Rs 1 crore allegedly meant for distribution in the constituency that is headed for voting on Tuesday.

According to the police, acting on a tip-off, the Hyderabad Commissioner’s Task Force caught Srinivas Rao, a Chandanagar-based businessman, along with his driver T Ravi Kumar, near Begumpet flyover while they were carrying the cash in a car.

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“Srinivas Rao collected the cash from a manager of Visakha Industries from the firm’s office at Begumpet and was taking it to Dubbak. The firm belongs to former Peddapalli MP and BJP leader G Vivek Venkataswamy,” City Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar said.

“A special operation was launched by the Task Force in coordination with the Begumpet police on Sunday based on information gathered by the Hyderabad City Police. Unaccounted cash of Rs.1 crore directly linked to the Dubbak bypoll was seized while being transported in a Toyota Innova vehicle. During interrogation of Srinivas Rao, it was revealed that the money was meant to be distributed in Dubbak,” Anjani Kumar said.

Two mobile phones were also seized from the arrested persons. “During analysis of call details and messages, we found the money was linked to a particular candidate contesting the Dubbak bypoll. Facebook and WhatsApp communications also pointed to the same,” the Commissioner said.

“A specialised agency will take up further investigation of the case,” Anjani Kumar said, adding that the City Police were working as per the guidelines of the Election Commission of India and were vigilant round the clock. “Surprise checking and information-based checking is being conducted to ensure unaccounted money is not pumped into the election,” he said.

 

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