Former Andhra Pradesh minister Bhuma Akhila Priya, the
prime accused in the sensational
kidnapping case of badminton player Praveen Rao, and his brothers Sunil Rao and Naveen Rao, was today left disappointed after a Secunderabad court rejected her bail petition.
In the petition, she had urged the court to grant her bail on the grounds of ill health. However, the court rejected the plea, saying that the reports submitted by the doctors who had examined her showed that the TDP leader was in fact healthy.
It also discounted the arguments made by Priya's lawyer who had reportedly made an appeal to the court to accept the bail plea as she was pregnant, and had been arrested solely for "political reasons".
The lawyer representing the state government contended that giving the former minister bail would jeopardise the ongoing investigation of the case as she was a politician who would easily be able to manipulate evidence and influence witnesses.
Agreeing with the arguments put forward by the lawyer representing the government, the court accepted
the petition of the police seeking to keep the accused in police custody for a period of one week. However, it remanded her to custody only till January 13.
The court had earlier sent the former minister to the Chanchulguda prison for 14 days of judicial remand after her initial arrest in connection with the case.
Meanwhile, her husband, Bhargav Ram, who has been made A2 in the case, is still on the run. The police have formed special teams to apprehend him. Reports reveal that they are also planning to arrest his parents for their possible involvement in the case.
Another accused, Srinivas Choudhary, is also on the run, and the police are searching for him in three states of the country.