HYDERABAD: Notorious casino organiser Chikoti Praveen Kumar on Thursday approached the High Court, seeking police security cover for him and his family, as he was receiving threat calls from unknown people.
He complained that the Hyderabad police commissioner was not responding to his representation for security and sought the court to direct the police to provide security.
However, a single judge bench headed by Kanneganti Lalitha, was not inclined to approve the request of Praveen Kumar. It directed the Hyderabad police commissioner to consider Praveen’s representation and take a decision within a week and disposed the petition.
Senior counsel B. Chandrasen Reddy, appearing on behalf of Praveen Kumar, informed the court that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was investigating the money laundering case filed under FEMA against Praveen Kumar, and that the petitioner had appeared before the investigating agency and had been cooperating with it.
Furthermore, the lawyer informed the judge that because the petitioner was unrelated to the casino sector, the question of releasing identities of high-profile politicians and significant people in the inquiry did not arise. Counsel furnished a GO 685, which plainly indicates that any individual, who apprehends a threat to his life or the lives of his family members and approaches the police, shall be provided with security cover.
With the hype of media and airing of news that Praveen revealed names of some politicians to the Enforcement Directorate, the petitioner had received threats from unknown individuals and recently some anti-social elements roamed around the house of Praveen Kumar, the senior counsel said. Right to life was a fundamental right and it could not be infringed, so that the police had to provide security, the senior counsel argued.
