Cash-for-vote: ED files chargesheet against Telangana MP Revanth Reddy

HYDERABAD: Exactly six years after Rs 50 lakh cash was allegedly offered to a nominated MLA in the legislative council polls, the Enforcement Directorate on Thursday filed a chargesheet against Congress Lok Sabha MP from Malkajgiri, A Revanth Reddy, TRS MLA Sandra Venkata Veeraiah and four others in the cash-for-vote scam.
The ED chargesheet also made a mention of TDP president and former AP chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s name while talking about a phone recording, but did not name him as an accused in the case.The ED had provisionally attached Rs 50 lakh allegedly offered as bribe to Anglo-Indian MLA Elvis Stephenson, asking him to abstain from voting to favour a TDP candidate in the MLC polls in 2015. The alleged offence took place on May 31, 2015.
The ED also named independent church bishop Harry Sebastian, Revanth’s aide Rudra Sivakumar Uday Simha, mediator Mathaiah Jerusalem and then TDP MLC candidate Vem Narendar Reddy’s son Vem Krishna Keerthan in the case.
The bribe money was arranged by Narendar Reddy’s son, the ACB and ED alleged.
The ED investigation established that Revanth Reddy, Sandra Veeraiah and others had conspired to bribe Stephenson to secure his vote in favour of Narender Reddy. The ED chargesheet (prosecution complaint) was filed in the metropolitan sessions judge-cum-PMLA special court in Nampally.
The ED recorded the statements of the accused and witnesses, including Revanth Reddy, Sebastian and Uday Simha. The trio was allegedly involved in the actual handing over of the bribe amount to Stephenson.ED sleuths also confronted them with audio-visual recordings of the offence.
The points raised by the ACB that Chandrababu Naidu had allegedly spoken to Stephenson before the voting and gave him an assurance were mentioned in the ED chargesheet as well. However,both the ACB and the ED did not produce any evidence against Naidu except confirming that the voice in the audio record was that of Naidu.
Stephenson alleged that he was offered Rs 5 crore and a flight ticket to leave the country after casting his vote in favour of the TDP candidate in the legislative council elections held on June 1, 2015. The ACB arrested Revanth Reddy after catching him red-handed while he was allegedly paying Rs 50 lakh to Stephenson.