Andhra CID takes over case against KCR

The Andhra Pradesh CID on Wednesday took over the probe into a criminal case lodged against Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao by an accused in the cash-for-vote scam that allegedly involved a TDP legislator.

A team of officials from the Crime Investigation Department (CID) reached here from Hyderabad and gathered all details from a police station, where Jerusalem Muthaiah had lodged a complaint last week.

The investigating officers took the first information report (FIR), case diary and other documents related to the case in their possession.

Muthaiah's statement was also recorded before a magistrate.

A case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including criminal intimidation, was lodged against the Telangana chief minister -- who is popularly known as KCR -- last week at Satyanarayanapuram police station.

Muthaiah, who is an absconding accused as per the FIR in the cash-for-vote case in Telangana, alleged that he faces threat to his life from KCR and leaders of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).

He said some followers of the Telangana chief minister visited his house in Hyderabad and threatened him and his family members, to give a statement against Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu.

Muthaiah alleged that KCR's followers also took him to some unknown places and assaulted him, following which he came to Vijayawada.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday transferred the case to the CID.

It is being seen as Andhra Pradesh's counter to the plans by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Telangana to issue notice to the Andhra Pradesh chief minister in the cash-for-vote scam.

The ACB on May 31 had arrested TDP legislator Revanth Reddy and two others in Hyderabad for allegedly trying to hand over bribe of Rs.50 lakh to nominated MLA Elvis Stephenson to induce him to vote for the TDP-BJP candidate in Telangana legislative council elections.

An audio tape of Chandrababu Naidu's alleged telephonic conversation with Stephenson surfaced on June 7.

The TRS government alleged that Naidu, who is also the TDP chief, is the mastermind in the scam.

The Andhra Pradesh government, however, denied the charges and alleged that the audio tape was fake.

The TDP government accused the Telangana government of tapping phones of Naidu, his cabinet colleagues and senior officials in Hyderabad, common capital of the two states.

Amid reports of the ACB preparing to summon Naidu, several Andhra Pradesh ministers on Tuesday threatened to file a counter case against the Telangana chief minister.