Hyderabad: ACB director-general A. K. Khan and IG Intelligence Shivdhar Reddy on Thursday met Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, leading to speculation that moves were being made to make AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu the prime accused in the Revanth Reddy cash for vote case. The senior IPS officers reportedly briefed the Chief Minister on the progress of investigations into case, efforts to trace the source of the Rs 50 lakh cash seized from incarcerated Telugu Desam MLA A. Revanth Reddy, and other issues. It is learnt that the police officials discussed procedures regarding serving a notice to Mr Naidu if it was decided make him a prime accused in the case.
Sources said while Anti Corruption Bureau will try to gather sufficient evidence against Mr Naidu, Mr Rao will have to take a political decision. “Since the offence took place in our state and the accused are in the state, there is no problem in registering cases against all the accused including Mr Naidu. But a lot more investigation needs to be done and foolproof evidence has to be gathered before booking a case against Mr Naidu,” a senior police official told Deccan Chronicle.
“It will take a long time to gather evidence on all aspects and ensure that it stands the scrutiny of the courts,” the police official added. Mr Revanth Reddy, the present prime accused in the cash-for-vote case, had claimed on tape that he was acting on the instructions of his “boss” and bragged about his closeness to him. Meanwhile, Union power minister Piyush Goyal, who called on both Chief Ministers on Thursday to discuss power related issues, refused to comment on the Revanth Reddy episode.
