Let’s talk and sort things, says Victims' lawyer after kidnapping incident

HYDERABAD: Advocate Pratap Kumar on Wednesday appealed to his brothers’ kidnappers to resolve the property dispute and other issues between the two families through discussions and not by resorting to violence. “This is not the way to settle things. Resorting to such violent acts and making money is of no use. Everyone will earn money but that is not the only criteria. I appeal to them to have a discussion and settle the issue,” Pratap Kumar, the elder brother of former badminton player Praveen Rao, Sunil Rao and Naveen Rao, said. He also thanked the police for their swift response in bringing back his brothers home safely. “This incident shows how effective and committed the Telangana Police Department is,” he said. 

Without naming former Andhra Pradesh Tourism Minister Bhuma Akhila Priya and her husband Bhargav Ram, he said his family knows who is behind the kidnapping. Even earlier, they had appealed to the couple several times and explained to them the facts. But, time and again, the accused had been troubling his family. Now, they have gone to extremes by kidnapping the brothers, Pratap Kumar said. “As the family elder, I once again appeal to them, let us sit and talk about the issue and resolve it,” the advocate said. He also mentioned that the accused had issues within them and, instead of clearing these out, had been troubling his family. 

Pratap Kumar said that he was in Mahbubnagar when he received information about I-T sleuths raiding his residence. He immediately accessed the CCTV footage on his mobile phone and saw around 15 people, dressed as professionals, and some police personnel entering the house. When he found that his brothers were missing from home, he cross-checked with the I-T Department about the raids and got to know that no such exercise was planned.Suspecting kidnap, Pratap Kumar alerted MP K Kavitha, Minister Srinivas Goud and police. 

Meanwhile, the family identified a few persons, who had picked up the brothers, as the associates of Bhargav Ram. Pratap Kumar said the suspects had made his brothers sit in three separate vehicles and headed in different directions. When they asked where they were being taken, the accused masked them, forcefully confined them, made them lay on the vehicle floor and abused them.They drove them to a farmhouse at Chilkur, where they tied their legs and forced them to sign some documents related to property agreements as well as some blank sheets, Pratap Kumar said.

The accused were taking instructions from their handlers all through the drive to the farmhouse, the victims informed their family and police. Even at the farmhouse, when the brothers refused to sign the documents, the accused threatened them saying that their “boss will come and explain to them other things”.

While signing the documents, Praveen Rao saw some names related to Allagadda and stopped signing further, Pratap Kumar said. He added that suspects picked up all the mobile phones, tablets and watches from their residence, without leaving any evidence. They had also tried to take away the DVR equipment but could not as the CCTV footage is stored on a cloud, which he and his brothers can access on their mobile phones only.

Accused drove around Hyd to dodge cops

The accused, after kidnapping the three brothers from their home at Bowenpally, anticipated that police would increase vigil on the roads leading to the Kurnool and Vijayawada highways. Hence, they took the route towards Moinabad and drove around Hyderabad. But on getting to know that the police were trailing them, they abandoned the victims and fled. The accused had initially thought of taking different routes to reach the farmhouse at Moinabad but changed their plan. They all took the same route, via Trimulgherry, Secunderabad, Tank Bund, Masab Tank, Mehdipatnam, Langar Houz, Chilkur and Moinabad. They masked the victims to make sure that they do not raise the alarm. They also kept a distance from other vehicles in traffic.