Accompanied by his advocate J Ramachandra Rao, KTR arrived at the ACB office promptly at 10 am and presented himself for questioning. In compliance with a Telangana High Court order, his advocate waited in a separate room with a view of the investigation area.
Published Jan 09, 2025 | 2:12 PM ⚊ Updated Jan 09, 2025 | 6:41 PM
BRS Working President KT Rama Rao. (X)
Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao emerged from an eight-hour interrogation by a three-member team of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Thursday, 9 January, asserting that the officials had no new questions for him.
The former Telangana Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) Minister was questioned about his involvement in the alleged irregularities in the Formula E race case.
KTR alleged that the ACB’s inquiries were merely 40 different rephrasings of the same four questions possibly handed by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy.
He further asserted that the bureau lacked concrete evidence of corruption, and described the case as frivolous.
Accompanied by his advocate J Ramachandra Rao, KTR arrived at the ACB office in Hyderabad promptly at 10 a.m. and presented himself for questioning. In compliance with a Telangana High Court order, his advocate waited in a separate room with a view of the investigation area.
According to sources, ACB officials based their questions primarily on statements from Arvind Kumar, the former principal secretary of MUDA, who appeared before them on Wednesday, 8 January.
They also referred to a statement by the current Municipal Administration principal secretary, Dana Kishore, who is the complainant in the case.
KTR said that he had told the ACB officials that he would appear before them whenever they wanted. But he cautioned the officials to realise that they were playing into the hands of their political bosses by registering cases which had clear political motives.
With speculations rife that the ACB might take action against KTR following the interrogation, BRS workers appeared to be on edge. Earlier in the day, several party leaders visited KTR’s residence in Nandagiri Hills to express solidarity with their beleaguered leader.
KTR, listed as the first accused in the case, had earlier sought to have the ACB case quashed, but the Telangana High Court dismissed his petition on 7 January, withdrawing his protection from arrest.
Although KTR was originally scheduled to appear before the ACB on 6 January, he refused to appear for questioning without his advocate beside him – a request the ACB denied.
On 8 January, he moved the high court for permission for the same, and the court permitted his advocate to remain at a visible distance during the interrogation.
Despite the looming possibility of drastic action by the ACB, KTR appeared composed as he left his residence on Thursday morning. Accompanied by BRS leaders, he addressed the media, reiterating his resolve to fight Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, stating that he would not mind even if he had to die in the process.
He declared that he was clean as a whistle and added that he was sure that he would come out of the case unscathed. He said his appearance before the ACB was a gesture of respect for the law and the courts, emphasising that he had not indulged in corruption.
KTR further asserted that his actions regarding the Formula E race were in the best interests of Hyderabad and Telangana. Taking a veiled swipe at Revanth Reddy, he claimed he had not used his ministerial position to secure contracts for his brothers-in-law.
The Supreme Court will take up KTR’s special leave petition (SLP), challenging the high court’s dismissal of his plea to quash the ACB FIR, on 15 January. KTR’s counsel had sought an earlier hearing on 10 January.
The ACB is probing the alleged irregularities in the transfer of ₹46 crore (excluding taxes) in pounds sterling to London-based Formula E Operations for the second edition of the Formula E Race, scheduled for February 2024 in Hyderabad. The event was cancelled after Congress assumed power and terminated the agreement.
Investigators are examining why the ₹46 crore was transferred in two instalments in October, even before a fresh agreement was signed to replace AceNextGen with the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) as the event sponsor.
The transfer violated state secretariat business rules, as it bypassed approval from the Finance Ministry, the cabinet, and the then chief minister, who also chaired the HMDA.
The ACB is also scrutinising the lack of penalties imposed on AceNextGen for withdrawing from the tripartite agreement, which forced HMDA to step in and use public funds to pay for Formula E Operations.
Investigators are questioning the urgency with which the state government acted, particularly given that several countries had pulled out of hosting Formula E races due to financial losses.
Reports suggesting a close relationship between KTR and the promoters of Greenko, whose subsidiary AceNextGen was part of the agreement, have further piqued the ACB’s interest.
Officials are investigating potential links between the ₹41 crore Greenko paid to the BRS in 2022 through electoral bonds and the government’s decision to involve AceNextGen in the Formula E race.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
