MLAs poaching: Telangana cops track movements of accused, obtain call data and chats

HYDERABAD: A day after the Cyberabad police arrested three persons for allegedly luring four TRS legislators into their party fold, police questioned the trio and reportedly obtained WhatsApp chats between the accused and MLAs, besides other call data.

It is reported that state intelligence officials had played a key role in tracking the movement of the accused and trapping them.

Meanwhile, a team comprising police and intelligence personnel on Thursday went to Delhi to inquire into the antecedents of one of the accused, Ramachandra Bharathi, alias Satish Sharma, in Faridabad.

The two others who have been arrested are city-based businessman Nanda Kumar, and Simhayaji Swamy from Tirupati. Sources said that Simhayaji Swamy used to work as a school teacher in Raichur a few years back. He left the job and went to Tirupati, posing as a priest, and started performing special pujas.

The investigators did not answer questions about quantum of money reportedly seized from the farmhouse located in Aziznagar, which belongs to TRS legislator ‘Pilot’ Rohit Reddy.

Sources said that the law enforcement agencies had allegedly intercepted mobile phone conversations of the three accused of the past few days.