Cash-for-vote:TDP MLA home raided, flurry of cases against K Chandrasekhar Rao

HYDERABAD: Amid a raging row over the cash- for-vote scam, ACB sleuths today conducted searches at the residences of TDP MLA Revanth Reddy and arrested two persons in connection with the case.

As the bitterness between the ruling parties in the adjoining states soared, over 50 cases were registered by the Andhra Pradesh Police against Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao over alleged illegal tapping of the phones of his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Chandrababu Naidu in the case.

Three teams of anti-corrution bureau sleuths conducted simultaneous searches at the residences of Reddy, Sebastian Harry and Uday Simha but the officials said that no incriminating documents were found.

ACB Deputy Superintendent Ashok Kumar, however, said one computer CPU from the MLA's house had been confiscated.

"Searches were carried out as per procedure and in the presence of family members of the accused...The idea was to seize material connected to this case," an ACB officer, who was part of the search teams, said.

He said the accused will be produced before the special ACB court here this evening on completion of their four-day police custody period.

On May 31, ACB arrested Reddy and two others while they were allegedly trying to hand over Rs 50 lakh as bribe to nominated MLA Elvis Stephenson to vote for TDP nominee in the Telangana Legislative Council polls.

Based on complaints by TDP workers accusing the Telangana government of illegally tapping Naidu's phone, the cases were registered under different sections of IPC and relevant provisions of the Indian Telegraph Act, police said today.

"In the complainants it was also accused that by tapping Naidu's phone they (Telangana government) "indulged in defaming and destabilising" the Andhra Pradesh government," a senior police officer said.

Since yesterday, several cases have been registered across the states, IGP (South Zone) V Venugopal Krishna told PTI.