KTR Appears Before ED Interrogators, Situation Tense

Tension prevailed at the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office in Basheerbagh today as BRS working president K T Rama Rao appeared before officials in connection with the Formula E race money transaction case.

A large number of BRS leaders and activists gathered at the ED office to support KTR. However, they were stopped by the police, leading to a scuffle and a tense situation. Several BRS activists and leaders, including MLA Maganti Gopinath, former MLA Balka Suman and former IPS officer R S Praveen Kumar, were arrested by the police.

Former ministers Gangula Kamalakar and Srinivas Goud were also among those who arrived at the Basheerbagh ED office.

Approximately 200 policemen were deployed in the area. As a precautionary measure, the police brought in tear gas vehicles and water cannons.

The department was in general put on high alert, and a massive security arrangement was implemented at Gandhi Bhavan, the Congress headquarters, too. Police personnel were stationed at all four gates of Gandhi Bhavan, with top officials instructed to maintain heightened security until the ED probe was concluded. This decision came in response to intelligence reports suggesting that some BRS activists might attempt to lay siege to Gandhi Bhavan.

Heavy security was also arranged at the BJP State office in Nampally, with police deployed on both sides of the road leading to the office.

For the uninitiated, the ED has registered an ECIR based on the FIR filed by the ACB against KTR, senior IAS officer Arvind Kumar and HMDA engineer B L N Reddy. The latter two have already been questioned by the ED in this case.