BJP National General Secretary Muralidhar Rao was booked by the Hyderabad police on Tuesday for allegedly cheating a couple to the tune of Rs 2.17 crore. Eight others were also named in the FIR, a copy of which is with TNM.
The other accused were identified as A Krishna Kishore, Eshwar Reddy, Manda Ramachandra Reddy, Gajula Hanumantha Rao, Sama Chandrashekar Reddy, Baba, Srikanth and G Srinivas.
The complaint was filed by 41-year-old Pravarna Reddy, who alleged that Eshwar Reddy approached her and her husband stating that he knew one Krishna Kishore who is very close to Muralidhar Rao. Eshwar claimed that he could get them nominated for a government job if they were willing to pay a large amount of money. Even though the couple were reluctant, the police said that Eshwar approached them again along with Kishore and Ramachandra and pressurised them to accept the proposal.
Pravarna said that the accused also produced an alleged offer letter, purportedly signed by Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and extorted Rs 2.17 crore from them assuring her that her husband would be nominated as the chairperson of Pharma Exil, which comes under the Ministry of Commerce and Industries. Sitharaman was the Commerce Minister at the time of the incident.
After they received the amount, the accused allegedly stopped responding to the couple’s repeated requests and began dodging them, the complaint stated. Instead, some of the accused even began threatening them. Following this, the couple approached the police and filed a complaint.
The police said that the entire modus operandi was carried out with the “active connivance” of Muralidhar Rao.
The case was registered under Sections 406 (Criminal breach of trust), 420 (Cheating), 468 (Forgery for purpose of cheating), 506 (Criminal intimidation) read with 120b (Criminal conspiracy) of the IPC, and 156(3) of the CrPC.
Responding to the FIR, Muralidhar Rao tweeted, “Regarding the FIR filed – have nothing to do with the present dispute. The FIR involving me reportedly is sequel to a private complaint in a court by those who actually are facing criminal charges in the same matter. The timing of the private complaint which has no base is mischievous to say the least. Hope police will act quickly to nail the lies. My lawyers will initiate appropriate steps to bring the culprits to justice.”
The timing of the private complaint which has no base is mischievous to say the least.
— Chowkidar P Muralidhar Rao (@PMuralidharRao) March 26, 2019
Hope police will act quickly to nail the lies.
My lawyers will initiate appropriate steps to bring the culprits to justice.
(2/2)
Police said further investigation into the case was underway.