BRS working president KTR placed under house arrest with 7 others, claims party

HYDERABAD: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president Kalvakuntla Taraka Rama Rao (KTR) on Tuesday morning was placed under house arrest by the police, the party said, adding that at least seven top leaders of the regional party have been placed under house arrest, including KTR, Harish Rao and R S Praveen Kumar.

Heavy police deployment can be seen outside KTR’s residence in Hyderabad’s Gachibowli. This comes following the arrest of another BRS MLA Padi Koushik Reddy yesterday. Earlier, KTR on Thursday vehemently denied allegations of corruption made against him by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) over the Formula E race case and called it ‘frivolous’ and ‘abuse of law process.’

#WATCH | Hyderabad, Telangana | Following the arrest of BRS MLA Padi Koushik Reddy yesterday, BRS MLA Harish Rao has been placed under house arrest by the police; heavy police deployment at his house in Kokapet, says the Bharat Rashtra Samithi party. pic.twitter.com/6CdTRTCF1n

— ANI (@ANI) January 14, 2025

After his appearance before ACB on January 9, in connection with the Formula-E race case, KTR claimed that he was repeatedly asked the same questions for over seven hours, despite having no substantial evidence to back the charges. KTR alleged that the case filed against him was ‘frivolous’ and ‘illegal’ and was hoisted on him because the BRS was fighting against the state government.

KTR said, “They (ACB) have no case. It’s a frivolous case. I told them it was an abuse of the process of law. I also told them that when there is no case, you can’t make a case. They kept asking the same question over and over again for almost 80 times. But to their peril, they have zero case in this.”

KTR alleged that the charges against him were politically motivated, driven by the Telangana Chief Minister’s desire to target him personally. “I asked them (ACB) where is the corruption in this. I have done whatever I have done as a minister, in full consciousness, to ensure Hyderabad and Telangana are put on the world stage. If you are going to accuse me and make a case out of this, it is probably just the sadistic pleasure of the CM and nothing more”, said KTR.

He accused the government of using the case as a tool to suppress political opposition and said, “They are trying to file illegal cases on me. This is not my fight. This is basically to suppress any voice that is going to question this govt. So, I will fight legally, I will seek all kinds of legal remedies and hope the truth will come and justice will prevail.”

The Telangana High Court on Tuesday dismissed the quash petition filed by KTR in the Formula E race case. Telangana’s ACB is investigating KTR’s alleged involvement in a money laundering case over alleged financial irregularities linked to the Formula E race held in Hyderabad in February 2023.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has also registered an enforcement case information report (ECIR) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against KTR and others in the case. The ED filed the ECIR after the Telangana ACB registered a First Information Report (FIR) against KTR and others in the Formula-E funding case. (ANI)