The stage is set for the ACB to register a case against former YCP minister Vidadala Rajani for threatening Chalapathi, the owner of Lakshmi Balaji Stone Crusher from Chilakaluripet, and collecting Rs. 2 crore. An FIR is finally being registered after a complaint was received that former SP of Krishna and Chittoor districts Palle Joshua had a share in this sin.
According to 17(A) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, permission from the Governor is mandatory to register a case against a former minister. The ACB writes a letter seeking permission from the Governor. The ACB, which took Chief Secretary permission against IPS officer Palle Joshua, is waiting for the Governor’s permission to take action against former minister Vidadala Rajani.
However, legal experts have said that the Governor’s permission is not required. They are reminding us that when she first approached the owner of the stone crusher and demanded money (on September 4, 2020), she was only a local MLA. Later, when Joshua, who was the Guntur Vigilance SP, inspected the stone crusher and threatened him, and when he gave in to pressure and handed over the money (on March 4, 2021), she was also an MLA.
Legal experts who have identified this matter have suggested that the ACB officials can register a case directly without the Governor’s permission. It is reported that it has been clarified that the Governor’s permission should be taken only if there are allegations of corruption in the ministry where Vidadala Rajani worked at that time.
It is learnt that the police have also explained that a case can be registered against the racketeer committed in the capacity of MLA. With this, the ACB officials are ready to register an FIR.
However, since they have already written for the permission of the Governor, they will file a case after getting clarity from him. The ACB is also tightening a noose around the neck of another accused in this case, Joshua.
Rajini, who is known for her arrogant behaviour as a minister, is said to become careless with the support she enjoyed from a key person in YS Jaganmohan Reddy’s regime, who was known as the `Minister of All Departments;.
She was allegedly focused on illegal income while she was an MLA and demanded Rs. 5 crore from the owner of the stone crusher, Chalapathy, through her personal assistant Ramakrishna. As he was harassed in the name of inspections, he made an agreement with Rajini and her brother-in-law Gopi to make a payment of Rs 2 crore.
In the complaint filed with the coalition government, the victim stated that he took Rs. 2 crore to Rajini’s house in Chilakaluripet and handed it over on March 4, 2021.
The government, which conducted a preliminary investigation into this matter, found that Vidadala Rajani collected Rs. 2 crore, Palle Joshua, who had threatened him in the capacity of Vigilance SP, collected Rs. 10 lakh, and MLA’s brother-in-law Gopi collected Rs. 10 lakh, totaling 2.20 crore.
