Hyderabad: In connection with an alleged case of forgery, Cyberabad cyber crime police conducted searches in the office of Associated Broadcasting Company and at the residences of the company’s chief executive officer V. Ravi Prakash, Telugu film actor S. Shivaji, and financial director M.V.K.N. Murthy on Thursday.
Police seized hard disks and other documents from the office of the company and other places, and these were sent for forensic analysis. Police served notices on them to appear before the investigating officer for questioning.
On April 24, the cyber crime police of Cyberabad received a complaint against Mr Ravi Prakash, Shivaji, and Mr Murthy, following a complaint from P. Kaushik Rao, director of Alanda Media and Entertainments Pvt Ltd, that the accused had committed forgery by creating false documents for illegal gain and also to gain in other issues related to the company.
Police registered a case under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security, 469 (forgery for harming reputation), 471 (using forged record as genuine) and 120 (B) (punishment for criminal conspiracy) of the IPC, and sections 66 and 72 of IT Act against the four alleged accused and took up investigation.
A week later, another complaint was received against Mr Ravi Prakash, Mr Murthy and the others, alleging cheating and creating of false papers, for which another case was registered.
According to sources, the allegations were that the accused had reportedly created false documents showing Shivaji as having purchased shares worth `20 lakh in the company. With that they approached the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), asking it not to allow the new management to take over the Associated Broadcasting Company.
As part of the probe, police acquired permission from a local court to search the premises of the Associated Broadcasting Company at Banjara Hills, the house of Mr Ravi Prakash at Banjara Hills, the house of Shivaji at Himayatnagar and the house of Mr Murthy at Khairatabad on Thursday. Cyberabad police commissioner V.C. Sajjanar said in a note that the police teams reportedly seized incriminating material during the raids.
The commissioner said that the seized material was being sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory for analysis of the seized material. Following a report from the FSL, further action will be taken and investigation in the case and necessary action will be taken as per law, he said. Police has also served notice on the accused persons under section 160 of CrPC to attend before the investigating officer for questioning.
Media reports emerged that Mr Ravi Prakash has gone underground for the last two days and police are searching for him. Later in the day, he said, “I am not absconding and am very much present in the headquarters of the TV9 office in Hyderabad. Nobody has arrested me. Some people are trying to implicate (me) in cases, but the truth will come out. The media reports telecast since Thursday morning are false.”
