Hyderabad: Former BRS minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao on Tuesday denied allegations of his involvement in land or property grab as alleged by complainant Sharan Chowdary, and declared that for reasons not known to him, his name was being dragged into a dispute that had nothing to do with him.
He also said he had nothing to do with the phone-tapping case currently being investigated by the police.
Answering a question at a press conference, Dayakar Rao said “I do not know Praneeth Rao. I never met with him.” On reports doing the rounds that one computer server used for tapping phones was set up in Warangal by Praneeth Rao, accused in the phone-tapping case, Dayakar Rao said he did not have any idea about that.
Dayakar Rao said he was under pressure from an unspecified ‘high command’ to quit the BRS, but refused to do so.
On the alleged case of the land grab, Dayakar Rao that he did not know Chowdary. “My involvement, if any, is limited to advising Vijay, an NRI, who approached me for assistance in recovering Rs 5 crore from Sharan Chowdary,” he said.
According to Dayakar Rao, Vijay was cheated by Chowdary who took Rs 5 crore for a land deal based on fake documents which, he alleged, was Chowdary’s modus operandi to cheat non-resident Indians.
He claimed that Chowdary had several cases filed against him over such deals, and Vijay was one of his victims. “My role was limited to getting an appointment fixed for Vijay with former city police commissioner C.V. Anand and advise him to seek help from the police,” Dayakar Rao said.
“I have no idea why my name is being dragged into the case,” he added.
He also said there was no truth in the claims that he was involved in grabbing an apartment. Chowdary owned an apartment worth Rs 1.25 crore which he said Vijay could take as part of repayment. The NRI, in a video clip shared by Dayakar Rao, said he was cheated by Chowdary and even for getting the apartment registered in his name, he cleared a bank loan owed by Chowdary on the property so he could get it registered. “Dayakar Rao has no role to play, all he did was to advise that I seek help from the police,” Vijay said in the clip.
