BRS minister booked for ‘election fraud’; chief election commissioner co-accused
While Srinivas Goud was named as the first accused, chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar have been made co-accused for allegedly ‘tampering’ his 2018 Assembly election affidavit
By Newsmeter Network Published on 13 Aug 2023 6:52 AM GMT
Hyderabad: An FIR was registered against Telangana Excise minister V Srinivas Goud on Saturday — under the directions of a special court for MPs and MLAs — in Mahabubnagar district for allegedly ‘tampering’ his 2018 Assembly election affidavit.
The allegations against Srinivas include manipulation of records during the 2018 general elections, changing the election affidavit before the returning officer in Mahabubnagar, and concealing information in the affidavit pertaining to the lands purchased by his wife and loans obtained from banks.
While Goud was named as the first accused, chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar and several other officials have been made co-accused.
The court made the reference to the police on a private complaint filed by a resident of Mahabubnagar. Court records show that the complainant, Chaluvagali Raghavendra Raju, filed a private complaint before the special court requesting an investigation into offences allegedly committed by Srinivas, which include criminal conspiracy, criminal intention, criminal intimidation, forgery of documents, placing incorrect records before the election authority during the 2018 general elections.
The special court directed the station house officer (SHO) of Town II police station in Mahabubnagar district to register a case against Srinivas under section 156(3) of CrPC and start an investigation.
Earlier, the FIR, registered on August 11, also mentioned former Telangana chief electoral officer Shashank Goel and several other officials as accused. The complainant alleged that the accused colluded with Goud and closed the election affidavit with no proper scrutiny. The matter was referred to the police by the court for the trial of criminal cases relating to elected MPs and MLAs in Hyderabad.
This is not the first time this order was passed. On July 3, 2023, the special court passed the same order to the SHO of Town II police station in Mahabubnagar district to register a case against V Srinivas Goud.
As the investigation did not commence and the case was not registered Raghavendra Raju requested the court to revisit his plea. Acting on the request, the special court again ordered the SHO II Town PS Mahbubnagar to register the case.
