Telangana BJP leader denies involvement in conspiracy to kill minister

Hyderabad, March 3:  Denying any involvement in the conspiracy to assassinate Telangana cabinet minister V. Srinivas Goud, BJP leader and former MP A.P. Jithender Reddy on Thursday demanded a thorough probe in the entire episode.

He said if the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) has no confidence in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), it should order a judicial probe.

Talking to reporters, he took strong exception to the allegations made against him and called it a political conspiracy to defame him and the party.

The National Executive member of BJP said he had apprised the national leadership of the developments in the state.

The former MP said people of the state should know why a conspiracy was hatched to kill the minister.

"We all saw the body language of the Cyberabad Police Commissioner. He was given a script; he was acting," tweeted Jithender Reddy.

Cyberabad Police Commissioner Stephen Ravindra on Wednesday night announced the arrest of eight accused in the case. Four of the accused were arrested from the residence of Jithender Reddy in New Delhi.

Police also seized two weapons and some bullets from the accused.

According to police, the accused had offered Rs 15 crore to a person with a criminal record for killing the minister.

The Police Commissioner said Jithender Reddy's driver Tilak Thapa and personal assistant Raju provided shelter to the accused in servant quarter at the former MP's house.

Stephen Ravindra said they were probing the role of Jithender Reddy in the case. Police on Thursday moved a court seeking custody of the accused for further questioning.

Meanwhile, Jithender Reddy's driver was released on a personal bond. After the release, Thapa came to the state BJP office where party's state President Bandi Sanjay felicitated him.

Sanjay alleged that since minister Srinivas Goud's corrupt activities were becoming public, the TRS government came out with a conspiracy theory to protect him. He claimed that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao was scared of BJP's growing popularity and he was trying to tarnish the image of the party by making false allegations against its leaders.

Meanwhile, Raghavendra Raju is reported to have told police that he hatched a plot to kill Srinivas Goud as he was targeting his businesses. The accused alleged that the minister not only got him implicated in false cases but damaged his real estate business and ordered closure of his bar.