SC refuses bail to accused in TRS MLAs' poaching case

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to grant bail to the three accused in the sensational case of alleged attempt to poach four TRS MLAs at a farmhouse in Hyderabad.

The apex court dismissed the petition for bail filed by the three accused – Ramachandra Bharathi alias Satish Sharma, Simhayaji and Nanda Kumar alias Nandu – and asked them to abide by the directions of the Telangana High Court.

The Supreme Court decision comes almost as the last nail in the coffin for the three accused in their hopes for a bail in the case at this point of time.

The three were arrested on October 26 after they were caught in a Cyberabad Police operation while allegedly trying to lure four TRS MLAs for breaking away from their party and joining the BJP. They were briefly let off after an ACB court annulled their remand report citing procedural lapses.

The three were re-arrested on October 29 following which they were sent to a 14-day remand. Recently, the Telangana High Court, while allowing the special investigation team (SIT) to proceed with its probe into the case, granted it the custody of the accused for further questioning.

They were recently questioned by the SIT and their voice samples were also collected to ascertain their alleged involvement in the sensational scandal. TRS chief and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) has recently revealed a few audio and video clips purportedly featuring the three accused. KCR alleged that they were trying to topple the TRS government at the behest of some top, influential leaders of the BJP.

In another earlier development, the Telangana High Court also rejected a BJP request to grant stay on the notice served by the SIT on its national secretary BL Santosh in connection with the case. The SIT has summoned the BJP leader for questioning as it suspects his involvement in the failed attempt to entice the TRS MLAs.