K.T. Rama Rao Appeals to ACB for Delay in Interrogation Until High Court Decision
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Hyderabad, Jan 6 (NationPress) Former Minister of Telangana and Working President of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), K.T. Rama Rao, has formally requested the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to postpone his interrogation concerning the Formula-E race case.
Rama Rao arrived at the ACB office on Monday following a summons but left without meeting with the investigating officers after he was denied entry with his legal counsel. He urged that his questioning be delayed until the Telangana High Court delivers its decision on his quash petition.
The BRS leader submitted a letter to the ACB official who had issued the notice for his appearance on that day.
In his correspondence addressed to Majid Khan, the DSP of the ACB’s Central Investigation Unit, Rama Rao indicated that the Telangana High Court has reserved its ruling on his quash petition, which is expected to be announced at any moment.
KTR, as he is commonly known, stated that pending the court's announcement, he was notified to appear on January 6 to provide information and documentation relevant to the case.
“Nevertheless, in your notice, you have not specified the information and documents required from me concerning the case. I kindly request that you provide the details of the documents needed so I can take the necessary steps after a reasonable timeframe,” wrote KTR, who assured his willingness to cooperate within his constitutional and legal rights.
“Given that the matter has been fully heard and is awaiting a judgment, you may want to consider postponing the inquiry until a verdict is rendered in the case,” he added.
Previously, KTR had arrived at the ACB headquarters located in Banjara Hills in response to the notice sent to him. When he was prevented from entering the office with his lawyer, he insisted on allowing his legal representative to be present during the questioning. After waiting in his vehicle for some time, and upon realization that officials would not permit his lawyer's presence, he decided to leave after delivering the letter to the ACB official.
Last month, the ACB filed a case against KTR, former Special Chief Secretary of the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) department Arvind Kumar, and former Chief Engineer of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) B.L.N. Reddy for alleged irregularities amounting to Rs 54.88 crore in the Formula-E deal. The FIR was lodged following a complaint by the Principal Secretary to the Government, MA&UD department M. Dana Kishore, who claimed that foreign remittances were executed without the necessary approvals from relevant regulatory bodies, leading to an additional tax burden of Rs 8.06 crore on HMDA. The FIR was filed under the Prevention of Corruption Act as well as sections 409 (criminal breach of trust) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
