An accused in the cash for vote scam, Mathaiah, knocked the doors of the High Court pleading innocence in the murky deal even as the Telangana ACB officials were on a look out for him ever since the arrest of TDP MLA Revanth Reddy and two others on May 31.
In a major relief to the accused Mathaiah, the High Court has granted a stay on his arrest. The ACB was also directed by the High Court by the counter and posted the case for hearing on June 24.
It might be mentioned here that Mathaiah has been named as A-4 in the scandal and has remained incognito to the ACB ever since even though Revanth Reddy and to others are cooling their heels in the jail. Mathaiah, however surfaced in Vijayawada and filed a complaint in various places against Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandasekhar Rao alleging that he was subjected to bullying, threatening and even assaulting on the eve of the recent MLC elections which has now turned into a political cauldron for the two Telugu States.
As a matter of fact when the Telangana ACB launched a vigorous probe to ascertain the complicity of AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in the cash-for-vote scam when he allegedly spoke to Anglo-Indian nominated MLA Elvis Stephenson over the phone and speculations wee rife about ACB notices to the TDP Supremo, the AP Government resorted to a counter offensive to probe alleged cases involving KCR. As if to strengthen the ploy of the AP leadership, Mathaiah’s complaint came in handy for the ruling TDP to target KCR.
In a lightning speed the AP Government even set up a Special Investigation Team headed by Mohammed Iqbal, who had worked as Security Officer to Naidu during the erstwhile TDP regime, to probe into as many as 80 cases reportedly filed in various police stations against KCR for intimidation as alleged by Mathaiah and also in connection with the alleged phone tapping episode.
Thus in a surprise development even as the Telangana ACB authorities were wanting to nab Mathaiah, the A-4 in the cash-for-vote scam, a petition was filed by him in the High Court wherein he pleaded his innocence in the scandal and that he was being falsely implicated in the matter. (NSS)