Cops summon Uttam

Hyderabad: A day after burnt currency notes were found in an abandoned vehicle bearing a sticker of a Congress leader in Nalgonda district, police on Thursday sent notices to a former MLA and Photon Energy Systems--the firm in whose name the vehicle was registered. Bundles of burnt currency notes in denominations of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 were found in the multi-purpose vehicle on the outskirts of Suryapet town and its windshield had an "MLA sticker" of former Huzurnagar MLA and minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy, who is currently the working president of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC).

Police suspect that the cash was meant for distribution among voters. Notices have been sent to the former MLA and also to the Photon Energy Systems seeking their response in view of the recovery of the burnt cash, Nalgonda Superintendent of Police T Prabhakar Rao told PTI over phone. "We are investigating to determine the source of the cash and the person who was transporting the cash. We are trying to locate the driver of the vehicle who continues to remain absconding...Once the driver is nabbed more information can be revealed," the SP said. The vehicle was registered in the name of Photon Energy Systems and its head office is located in Jubilee Hills here. A police team will examine the owner of the vehicle and also whether the owner had any role/involvement in transporting of the cash, another police officer said.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Bhanwarlal had yesterday said that allegations were that there was Rs 2.5 crore in cash in the vehicle. While some of the partially burnt currency notes were found lying inside the bonnet of the car above the engine, some were found on the back seat of the car, police said. According to police, the vehicle was on its way to Kodad in the district from Hyderabad when the bag, suspected to be kept inside the bonnet, caught fire due to heat, forcing its occupants to abandon the vehicle.