Ahead of the Assembly elections in Telangana slated to be held in 2023, politics in the state has intensified following the Cyberabad police discovering an alleged assassination plot against V Srinivas Goud, the Minister for Excise and Prohibition. Wives of the prime accused in the case have told TNM that these are false accusations and that is causing distress.
Goud represents the Mahabubnagar Assembly constituency. In the case, the police suspect the role of BJP leader and former MP Jithender and National BJP Vice President DK Aruna. Both BJP leaders are neighbours and are residents of Mahabubnagar. Police are examining the role of Jithender as the prime accused as five of the accused — Raghavender Raju, Amarender Raju, Madhusudhan Raju, Munnuru Ravi and Thapa — had sought shelter in the former MP’s servant quarters in Delhi. Thapa is the driver of Jithender Reddy. DK Aruna alleged that Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is behind this ‘conspiracy’ and this is part of TRS’s election strategy.
Along with the five — Yadaiah, Naga Raju and Vishwanath were also arrested by the Cyberabad police. Raghavender Raju, Madhusudhan Raju, Naga Raju and Amarender Raju are siblings.
Raghavender Raju, who used to run a bar, filed a complaint against Srinivas Goud in 2018, alleging that the details in his election affidavit were wrong. The Raju family has alleged that since then, they have been harassed by Srinivas Goud on various fake charges. They have alleged that Srinivas Goud closed down the bar run by Raghavendra after becoming Excise Minister.
Speaking to TNM, Amarender’s wife C Radha Amar said, “My husband had tried to broker a compromise between Raghavendra and Srinivas Goud, but Raghavendra did not yield.” Both Amarender and Radha are members of the ruling TRS party. “We were being harassed since Raghavendra made the allegation,” Radha alleged.
Radha, who is in extreme distress, said, “It would be fair to punish us if we had committed any crime, but I am unable to take this kind of harassment without committing any offence.”
According to Radha, on February 23, the Task Force Police had detained her son, Vineeth. “What crime did my son do? Why involve him in this political game? We have been traumatised with all these incidents,” she shared. She also said that none of the TRS leaders have offered them any help in the matter.
Similarly, Pushpalatha, wife of Vishwanath, another accused in the case, said, “This is a politically motivated case. My husband is not that kind of a person. He has been framed. In the past multiple cases had been filed against him at the behest of the Minister. The Minister exercised all his power to cripple us financially and harass us all because he was a witness in the case.” In the case filed by Raghavender Raju against Srinivas Goud in 2018, Vishwanath was the witness.
Vishwanath, Yadaiah and Naga Raju were arrested when they attempted to kill Farooq and Hyder Ali, according to the police. Farooq is allegedly a contract killer approached by Raghavender and Naga Raju. Farooq revealed the plan to his friend Hyder Ali, due to which Vishwanath, Yadaiah and Naga Raju tried to kill both of them on February 25 in Hyderabad. They were arrested the following day and based on their confession, police arrested the others from Delhi, according to the Cyberabad Commissioner.
However, Vishwanath’s wife Pushpalatha says her husband was arrested on February 23 between 6 pm - 7 pm, two days before the alleged attempt to murder Farooq.
Meanwhile, on March 3, tension prevailed in Padmavathi Colony, as alleged supporters of Goud vandalised a car and property at Jithender and Aruna’s residences. The Mahabubnagar police had increased security in the area following the attacks.