MIM MLA, Sr. Advocate accused of swindling Rs 7 Cr, allegedly for dubious reasons

HYDERABAD: The Detective Department of the Hyderabad City Police has registered a case against a senior High Court advocate and an MIM MLA for allegedly cheating a businessman by promising to "manage" to secure a favourable judgment in a long-standing land dispute.

According to the police complaint, Senior High Court Advocate Vedula Venkataramana and MIM's Malakpet MLA Ahmed Bin Abdullah Bala purportedly received Rs 7 crore from Dr. Chintala Yadagiri, assuring him of influencing someone who mattered in a dispute that had been pending for 18 years. The dispute revolves around 90 acres of land in Bourampet in Medchal Malakjgiri, affecting 300 families. Originally, the accused allegedly demanded Rs 14 crore, but Dr. Yadagiri negotiated to pay Rs 10 crore, out of which he allegedly paid only Rs 7 crore.

Venkata Ramana has been working as an advocate for Dr. Yadagiri for several years. The dispute initially involved former TPD MLA Verma. However, it is claimed that Vedula Venkata Ramana collaborated with Verma in a project and received Rs 25 crore from him.

The High Court dismissed the case against Vedula due to his repeated non-attendance at hearings. Subsequently, Yadagiri demanded the return of the money taken from him by Vedula and Balala. As of now, only Rs 1 crore has been returned.

Accusing them of cheating and seeking the recovery of an additional Rs 6 crore, Yadagiri approached the Central Crime Station, which registered a case (26/2024) on January 25, 2024, and initiated investigations. Another individual, Jai Kumar, has also been named as an accused in the case.