Anti-Corruption Bureau court in Hyderabad on Monday extended the judicial custody of Telugu Desam MlA A Revanth Reddy till June 29. Revanth Reddy and his two aides, facing the charges of bribing a nominated MlA Elvis Stephenson, were produced before the magistrate at the expiry of the 14 days judicial custody. Accepting the argument of the counsels for the ACB that the investigations were still on, the court extended the judicial custody by another two weeks.
In its memo filed before the court, the ACB said it had sent the audio tape and other material evidence to the Forensic Science laboratory and the reports are awaited. Revanth Reddy, Sebastian and Uday Sinha were arrested by the ACB on May 31 when they were paying Rs50 lakh of the promised Rs5 crore bribe to Stephenson to secure his vote for the Telugu Desam Party candidate in the legislative Council elections.
Following the ACB court’s orders extending Revanth Reddy’s judicial custody, his lawyers moved a bail petition before the High Court. The petition alleged that case against Revanth Reddy is politically motivated. He has already told the investigators whatever he had known and there is no need to keep him in judicial custody, the bail petition argued.
Meanwhile, the ACB is mulling to notice Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu for recording his statement as the Forensic experts have found the audio tape genuine and free from any tampering. The audio tape allegedly containing the conversation between a nominated MlA Elvis Stephenson and Chandrababu Naidu was sent by the ACB to the Forensic Science laboratory. If this finding is officially confirmed then either the ACB or the court can summon Naidu for questioning in the case. “Whether Naidu’s name will be added to the case as an accused will depend on the response we get from the CM,” an official said.
Stephenson, the person at the Centre of this entire episode, his daughter Jessica and a friend, who was present in the meeting with Revanth Reddy, will also record their statements before the magistrate in a couple of days. Jessica had served water to the guests when Reddy and two others had come to meet Stephenson.