MLAs poaching case: SIT probe reveals role of Bandi's relative

Hyderabad: In yet in a major development in the investigation into the MLA poaching case, the Special Investigation Team of the Telangana Police has found that an advocate in Karimnagar, who is a relative of BJP State president Bandi Sanjay Kumar, had booked the air ticket for Simhayaji, one of the accused in the case, on October 26 from Tirupati to Hyderabad.

According to sources privy to information about the SIT investigation, the advocate, reportedly practising in Karimnagar, had also spoken to Nanda Kumar, another of the accused who was arrested, on October 14, after which he booked the ticket for Simhayaji on October 26.

While this indicates why the BJP has been repeatedly moving court to stall the investigation into the case, it is learnt that the police who have collected call data records, have found more startling details about the covert operation, in which the BJP has vehemently been denying any role.

Sources said that during the SIT investigation, the three accused had confessed that they took up the operation at the instance of the top leadership of the BJP in New Delhi, once again indicating why Bandi Sanjay had staged the entire drama of going to the Yadadri temple and taking an oath stating that the BJP had no connection with the covert operation and also exposing why the BJP was filing petition after petition, asking for CBI investigations and also for an extension on the stay on the investigation by the police into the case.

Another development was that the four TRS MLAs, who are involved in the sting operation that laid bare the BJP plans to topple the TRS government, are now getting threat calls from Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. Sources said the MLAs are likely to lodge a complaint with the police soon on these threat calls, sources said.