A criminal case was filed against Bharatiya Janata Party’s National General Secretary from Telangana P Muralidhar Rao and eight others on Tuesday, 26 March, for cheating a Hyderabad-based realtor, and forging the signature of Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
In exchange for Rs 2.1 crore, the realtor Mahipal Reddy and his wife T Pravarna Reddy were allegedly promised the post of chairman at Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council, a body under the Commerce Ministry, reported The Deccan Chronicle.
They were allegedly lured by a letter with the forged signature of Sitharaman, the report added.
The case was registered on directions of a court after Pravarna Reddy filed a petition against the group.
After not getting their end of the deal, the couple demanded Rao and his group return the money. This is when the couple allege Rao threatened them.
The promise was made during the time Sitharaman was the minister of commerce and industry.
According to a report by The Scroll, Saroornagar Inspector E Srinivas Reddy said, “Following the court orders, a case has been registered against the accused persons including Muralidhar Rao on the complaint of Ms Pravarna Reddy that the accused have taken Rs 2.17 crore promising a nominated post.”
The Police booked the accused group under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust) 420 (cheating), 468, 471 (forgery), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 156 (3) of CrPC.
Rao Denies Connection to the Corruption Case
Rao denied connection to the dispute. In a tweet, he said, “The timing of the private complaint which has no base is mischievous to say the least.”
(With inputs from The Deccan Chronicle and The Scroll)
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