ACB sleuths interrogate Atchannaidu

Amaravati: The ACB sleuths have interrogated the accused TDP MLA K Atchannaidu in the alleged ESI scam on Thursday at the Government General Hospital in Guntur for more than three hours. The officials have brought some files, which were related to the alleged scams and inquired about the alleged violations of the rules and procedures while clearing them.

As the ACB Court gave permission to the police to interrogate him at the hospital itself for three days including Thursday, Friday and Saturday, they inquired into the allegations at the hospital itself.

Before entering into the room, where Atchannaidu stayed in the hospital, the ACB officials took formal permission from the hospital Superintendent. A team of four members led by the ACB DSP AK Prasad reached the hospital at around 4.30 pm. The interrogation continued from 5 pm to around 8 pm. As per the directions of the ACB Court, the officials allowed advocate Haribabu on behalf of Atchannaidu and Dr Rajya Lakshmi. In addition to that, the ACB sleuths also brought a videographer and another photographer for the interrogation.

Meanwhile, Atchannaidu's advocate Haribabu informed the media that despite orders from the Court, the officials forced the MLA to sit during the interrogation. He said that the police wanted to create a kind of fear and hence resorted to a kind of harassment to the already suffering leader. The Advocate further observed that there was no evidence to accuse Atchannaidu in the clearing of the files.

According to the sources, the police primarily asked about the violations in the purchase of the drugs. The drugs were purchased at an exorbitant price from the Non-Rated companies, which caused huge loss to the public exchequer.

The interrogation will be continued for the remaining two days, according to the ACB officials. It is worth mentioning here that, after concluding the first-day interrogation, the ACB officials refused to comment on it.