YSRCP leader Vidadala Rajini, IPS officer Joshua booked for ‘extortion’

The "extortion" took place under the guise of vigilance inspections during the tenure of former Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy

Amaravati: A case has been registered against YSRCP leader Vidadala Rajini, senior IPS officer P Joshua and others, by Andhra Pradesh’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) for allegedly extorting over Rs 2.2 crore from a stone-crushing business owner during the previous YSRCP regime, the police said on Sunday.

The “extortion” took place under the guise of vigilance inspections during the tenure of former Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.

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“The ACB has booked former minister Rajini and IPS officer Joshua for extorting Rs 2.20 crore from a stone-crushing business owner in Edlapadu, Guntur district,” the police official said.

Rajini’s assistant, A D Ramakrishna, demanded Rs 5 crore from the stone-crusher owner, which was followed by an “unauthorised” inspection by Joshua a month later. Following the demand and the “inspection”, the stone-crushing business owner paid Rs 2.20 crore.

The ACB registered a case under Sections 7 and 7A of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) and Sections 384 and 120B of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for bribery, criminal conspiracy, and intimidation, they added.

Rajini has been listed as Accused No 1, Joshua as A2, Rajini’s husband, V Gopi, as A3, and Ramakrishna as A4, according to police.