SIT report nails B L Santhosh's role in TRS MLAs' poaching case?

HYDERABAD: Startling and sensational details pertaining to the TRS MLAs' poaching case came to light through a Special Investigation Team (SIT) report submitted to the Telangana High Court. As per the directions of the High Court, the SIT furnished the report on the progress made so far in the sensational case.

The report, in a damning revelation, pointed to the active involvement of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National Secretary BL Santhosh in the entire conspiracy to lure four TRS MLAs as part of an alleged attempt to topple the State government. In one of the significant findings, the SIT claimed that a crucial meeting in connection with the poaching conspiracy took place right at the Delhi residence of BL Santhosh. The investigating agency was also reported to have furnished clinching evidence in support of the charge.

So far, crucial chats on Whatsapp and Instragram purportedly between prime accused Ramachandra Bharathi and B L Santhosh have been revealed. The SIT report claimed that the detailed chats on the social messaging platforms contained names of all the MLAs in Telangana besides extensive conversations on the prevailing political scenario in the state. A series of meetings were held in Haridwar, Delhi and Nagpur.

A snapshot of the startling revelations made in the SIT report that was submitted to the Telangana High Court

* Ramachandra Bharathi has a long-time acquaintance and association with B L Santhosh. The two had chatted up several times on Whatsapp in August, 2021.

* The two had a meeting in Haridwar in April this year which was also corroborated with their mobile phone locations positioned there at that time. Munjagalla Vijay, an NGO representative, too confirmed the meeting during the SIT questioning.

* Ramachandra Bharathi sent a Whatsapp message to B L Santhosh about the Telangana Operation (Lotus) on April 26, 2022.

* On August 21, 2022, a meeting was held with regard to the conspiracy in Kalkaji of Delhi. Ramachandra Bharathi, Simhayaji and advocate Pratap were huddled in the meeting held at the residence of World Brahman Federation functionary KC Pandey and deliberated on the plan.

* On September 4, 2022, Ramachandra Bharathi, Nandu Kumar, Simhayaji and advocate from Karimnagar Busarapu Srinivas had another meeting during the World Brahman Federation conclave in Delhi. All their phone locations established their presence there at that time.

* Nandu Kumar, Simhayaji and Srinivas visited the head office of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Nagpur. While taking part in the annual conference of the Bharatiya Raksha Manch, they interacted with several leaders.

* A key meeting with regard to the poaching plot was organised on September 26 at the house of Nandu Kumar. Besides him, Ramachandra Bharathi, Simhayaji, Srinivas, Pratap and Vijay were present at the meeting. They invited TRS MLA from Tandur Pilot Rohit Reddy to the place and held deliberations. The recorded statement of Vijay confirmed this.

* From September 26 to October 14, frequent Whatsapp chats on building the bribery plot took place among Ramachandra Bharathi, Nandu Kumar, Simhayaji, Jagguswami, B L Santhosh, Thushar Vellappally, Pratap and Vijay. They even conversed over phone calls.

* The most crucial meeting in connection with the conspiracy was held on October 15 at the Delhi residence (official quarters) of B L Santhosh. Besides the key BJP leader, Thushar, Ramachandra Bharathi, Nandu Kumar and Vijay participated in the meeting that began at 10 am. Vijay made a mention of this in his recorded statement to the SIT. A video of this meeting was also discovered on his smartphone. The SIT collected data pertaining to the travel of the accused and the places of their stay in Delhi. The same was corroborated by advocate Pratap.

* Whatsapp messages were also exchanged among Ramachandra Bharathi, Nandu Kumar, Simhayaji, Jagguswami, Srinivas, Pratap and Vijay between September 15 and October 26 in connection with their poaching plot.

Kodandaram, Damodar Raja Narasimha targetted

As part of their wider net, Simhayaji convened a meeting with some significant politicians at Hotel Skyhy in Hyderabad. The meeting was called with the objective of enticing leaders to shift their loyalties from their current parties to the BJP. Interestingly, Prof. Kodandaram, senior Congress leader Damodar Raja Narasimha and others were part of this target list. Advocate Pratap and Vijay confirmed this startling development during their questioning. The location of the cell phones of Simhayaji and the political leaders established their presence at that place.

Whatsapp chatting between B L Santhosh, Ramachandra Bharathi

Ramachandra Bharathi: Last night, I waited for your response until 10 pm. I have to introduce three persons to you. Also, it has been a long time, I want to see you once.

B L Santhosh: Sorry. Could not spare time as I was busy. I would like to remind you about a few things. 1. AK Singh is trustworthy. 2. R Vashisth. First person is OK. Regarding the second, I need to discuss with senior DH.

Ramachandra Bharathi: Also, about the matter I told you before, if you are comfortable with it, we will proceed ahead or else, we will drop it. But, AK Singh is our man. Pls let Sandeep know about him.

B L Santhosh: OK. Will update about Vashisth. Need to consult Satish. Will try and tell Sandeep about A K. Please contact him after my call. Thanks.

FSL confirms voices

The SIT has collected voice samples of Ramachandra Bharathi, Simhayaji and Nandu Kumar following their arrest and custody in the wake of the Cyberabad police operation carried out at a Moinabad farmhouse on October 26. The voice samples were put to Automatic Speaker Identification Examination at the Forensic Science Laboratory in Hyderabad. After thorough analysis of the sample, it was established that there was a high probability of them belonging to the accused.

Excerpts of Whatsapp chats between Jagguswami and another key accused

I would like to bring to your notice a few aspects pertaining to the latest political developments in Telangana. A meeting was held between Digvijay Singh and KCR on the issue of merging TRS into the Congress. They spoke about convincing Sonia Gandhi. This is a very dangerous development for the BJP. One of my team members has been working in Telangana for over three years. He is very close to Raja Narasimha, who is the backbone of the Telangana Congress. Raja Narasimha enjoys a strong support among the Dalit and Reddy communities. He has a 75,000 vote bank in 20 constituencies. He has information on the irregularities in the government. On the other hand, a member of KCR's team came in contact with Amit ji. If he comes into the BJP, then there are chances for us to form the government. You please spare your time ASAP.

Many MLAs in AP are against Jagan

Our team is also working against YS Jaganmohan Reddy's corruption and conversions in AP. There is a sense of detachment among leaders in YSRCP. Several MLAs are against Jagan because of his family related issues. Sharmila has got a good name, more than Jagan. At least 55 MLAs from YSRCP and 20 leaders from other parties are excited to join the BJP. They are equally confident of contesting in by-elections and winning with the same majority. If we can make this happen as soon as possible, then we will have benefit even in Telangana. It would be better if we discuss this without any delay.