A day after complaining to the police that he lost his mobile, Telangana BJP president Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Monday alleged that his phone is with Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.
He said that CM KCR was shocked to look at his phone call list as several MLAs of ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) were in touch with him.
Sanjay, who is also Member of Parliament, said KCR was worried that if the call list becomes public he may lose ministers and MLAs to BJP and hence he started demanding him to hand over his phone.
The BJP leader was referring to the direction of Warangal Police Commissioner A. V. Ranganath to give his phone to the police for investigations into 10th class exam paper leak case.
Sanjay was arrested by the police from a relative’s house in Karimnagar on the intervening night of April 4 and 5. He was produced by a magistrate at Hanamkonda on April 5 and was remanded to judicial custody.
However, he was released on bail the next day. Sanjay was named accused number one in the case, in which nine others including a minor were included.
While addressing a press conference on April 5, the Warangal Police Commissioner had said that Bandi Sanjay was refusing to give his mobile phone to police for investigations.
Ranganath said that if Sanjay’s call and chat data are analysed, this will provide evidence that he was in regular touch with one Prashanth, who got the Hindi question paper leaked from an exam centre in Kamlapur on April 4 when the exam was still on. Prashanth had shared the same with many people including Sanjay.
The BJP leader on Sunday lodged a complaint with Karimnagar II Town Police Station that he lost his mobile phone when was detained by the police. He claimed that he had brought this to the notice of police officials who were travelling with him in a van to Bommala Ramaram Police Station of Rachakonda Police Commissionerate.
Meanwhile, the state government has requested the Telangana High Court to cancel the bail of Bandi Sanjay.
During the hearing of a petition filed by the BJP leader challenging the case registered against him, Advocate General B.S. Prasad brought to the court’s notice that Sanjay is not cooperating in the investigation. The court was told Sanjay has not given his mobile phone to police. AG submitted that if the mobile phone data is analysed, it will reveal many details behind the conspiracy.
The court asked the government to file an affidavit and adjourned the hearing to April 21.
In another related development, BJP MLA Eatala Rajender on Monday appeared before Warangal police in response to the summons for questioning. The former minister told reporters that the police officials analysed his mobile phone and found that he did not receive any call from Prashanth.
Rajender also disputed the police claim that it was a paper leak. Stating that the exam began at 9.30 a.m. and the paper came out after 11 a.m., the MLA said it was not a leak but a case of malpractice. He alleged that Chief Minister KCR was trying to implicate them in a false case.
