CBI questioning of TRS leaders Kamalakar and Ravichandra focussed on how they came in touch with the fake IPS officer.
10 states withdraw CBI general consent. (Creative Commons)
Even as the CBI intensified its investigation into the alleged association between Backward Classes Welfare Minister Gangula Kamalakar and Rajya Sabha member Vaddiraju Ravichandra with a fake CBI officer Kovvi Reddy Srinivas Rao, the probe agency has issued notices to four more persons in connection with the case.
When Minister Kamalakar and Ravichandra appeared before it in New Delhi on Thursday, 1 December, the CBI primarily focused on ascertaining how Srinivas Rao came in contact with them. While it is learnt that Kamalakar met the fake CBI officer at a recent community event, it is not yet clear as to how Ravichandra met him.
The CBI also wanted to know whether the minister and the Rajya Sabha member had any financial dealings with Srinivas Rao as both of them were into various business activities.
The CBI had arrested Srinivas Rao, a resident of Chinnawaltair in Vishakhapatnam, on Monday for impersonating as a senior IPS officer of the central agency, and accepting money from various persons to ger their work done.
Meanwhile, the CBI has issued notices to four more persons in connection with the case, including two businessmen from Yousufguda and Sanathnagar. It has summoned them to appear before it on Friday.
Sources said the more clarity in the case would emerge after the questioning of all the persons allegedly associated with Rao.
According to the FIR issued by CBI, Srinivas Rao claimed to be a senior officer of the CBI to Malepati Chenchu Naidu of Yousufguda, Uday Bhaskar Goniguntla of Moosapet, Srinivas Rao Penupothula of Balkampet, Jetti Srinivas of Amberpet, Vinay Handa of Uttar Pradesh, and Satyanarayana of Jubilee Hills, and offered favourable outcome in various matters pending before government authorities.
He demanded costly gifts from these private indviduals, claiming these would be handed over to senior government officers. Rao visited New Delhi on 22 November and stayed at Madhyanchal Bhawan and Tamil Nadu Bhawan in the city.
He met several private persons and public servants pretending to be a senior officer in the CBI. On 24 November, he met Srinivas Rao Penupothula at Tamil Nadu Bhavan.
In the case of Vinay Handa of Uttar Pradesh, Srinivas Rao claimed he was looking after the officers’ cadre of CBI and agreed to assist him in obtaining employment for his younger son.
He was also lobbying with Delhi :Police on behalf of two other individuals to obtain “No Entry Permits” (permission for vehicles to ply during “No Entry” restrictions in Delhi) for 2000 vehicles of a goods delivery company.
A few hours before Srinivas Rao’s arrest on Monday, the CBI sleuths had seized crucial documents and other material after conducting searches on premises belonging to him. It recovered ₹21 lakh in cash, gold and stone jewellery, as well as other incriminating documents.
Posing as a CBI officer, Srinivas Rao is believed to have been involved in several transactions that took place in Visakhapatnam and New Delhi.
It was based on the seized documents and information collected from Srinivas Rao’s mobile phone that the CBI issued summons to the Minister Kamalkar and Rajya Sabha member Ravichandra .
Sources said the accused was staying at Tamil Nadu House, impersonating as an additional director general of police (ADGP)/IPS.
In addition to the searches conducted by sleuths of Enforcement Directorate (ED) on the premises of Kamalakar in Karimnagar district earlier in connection with a probe into his granite business links in Karimnagar, the latest notice issued by the CBI has kept him on edge.
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