SIT issues lookout circular for BL Santosh, Tushar, Jaggu Swamy in MLAs poaching case

Telangana SIT issues lookout circular for Santosh, Tushar and Jaggu Swamy in MLAs poaching case on Tuesday.

Hyderabad : The Special Investigation Team (SIT) has issued lookout circular for BL Santosh, Tushar and Jaggu Swamy in MLAs poaching case on Tuesday. On Monday a lawyer said to be a relative of Telangana BJP President Bandi Sanjay Kumar had appeared before the SIT of the state police probing MLAs' poaching case but BJP General Secretary BL Santosh and two others were yet to respond to the notice served to them.

Bhusarapu Srinivas, a lawyer from Karimnagar, reached the Police Command and Control Centre in Hyderabad before 10.30 am., the time given by the SIT. Srinivas had allegedly funded the flight expenses for Simhayaji, one of the three accused arrested for the alleged attempt to buy four MLAs of ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). However, Santosh, president of Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) Tushar Vellapally and Jaggu Swami had not appeared for questioning till noon.

There was no clarity if they would make themselves available to SIT on Monday to record their statements or will seek more time. On November 19, the Telangana High Court had turned down the request of the BJP state unit to stay the notice issued to Santhosh. Justice B. Viajaysen Reddy, however, made it clear that Santhosh should not be arrested since the SIT had already issued notice to him under Section 41A of Criminal Procedure Code.

The judge observed that Santhosh should not be arrested and asked him to comply with the conditions imposed in the SIT notice. The same day, the court heard an application filed by the Telangana government seeking instruction to Delhi Police commissioner to cooperate with the SIT in serving notice to Santosh. The judge ordered that notice should be served to the top BJP functionary without any further delay. He allowed SIT to serve notice to Santosh through an e-mail or WhatsApp to the Delhi Police officer concerned.

The SIT, in its notice, asked the BJP leader to appear before it in Hyderabad on November 21. It also stated that if he fails to appear before it, he will be arrested. Santosh's name figured in the conversation between three alleged BJP agents arrested by the police last month while trying to lure four MLAs of TRS to the BJP fold with an offer of huge money.

All the four were summoned on the same day for questioning for their alleged links with the three accused arrested in the case last month. Jaggu Kottilil alias Jaggu Swami is working in Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences in Kochi while Tushar Vellapally is leader of BDJS, an ally of BJP in Kerala.