Dubbaka bypoll: BJP pick gets relief in harassment case but now stuck in cash-for-vote row

HYDERABAD: The BJP election committee, on Tuesday, announced M Raghunandan Rao as its candidate for the Dubbaka bypoll. Though the leader has already been campaigning in the constituency for the past several days, the BJP made his candidacy public  only after TRS leader Cheruku Srinivas Reddy joined the Congress party. 

Earlier in the day, the Telangana High Court had directed the State government not to take coercive steps, including arrest, in the harassment case registered against Raghunandan Rao at Raipole police station, based on a complaint lodged by a woman in Siddipet.  Justice K Lakshman passed this order in the petition filed by the BJP candidate, seeking to grant stay on all proceedings in the case registered against him for the alleged offences under various sections of the IPC.

The petitioner’s counsel contended that the police have registered the case against the petitioner based on a ‘vague’ complaint lodged by a woman in connection with a land dispute. 

...but now stuck in cash-for-vote row

HYDERABAD: The Cyberabad police, who seized Rs 40 lakh unaccounted cash at Shameerpet on Monday, have found that it was meant for distribution during the Dubbaka bypoll. The police have also found that the persons transporting the cash are followers of BJP candidate M Raghunandan Rao and were working at his behest. Balanagar DCP PV Padmaja said they had no proof that the money was for legal purposes and an analysis of their call records has proved that Raghunandan Rao was supposed to distribute it ahead of the bypoll. Inquiries revealed that four persons, namely Bhavani Srinivasa Babu, Bhavani Anjaneyulu, P Suresh and Mohammad Maajid Hussain,  were going to hand it over to the BJP candidates’s close relative.