New Delhi: In a curious case of alleged kidnapping, four men went missing from senior BJP leader and former Mahabubnagar MP Jithender Reddy’s house in South Avenue, New Delhi, at around 8:30 pm Monday.
Former MP Reddy, who joined the BJP in 2019, has alleged that the four men — Thapa, his driver of eight years; Ravi Munnur, former student politician and social activist; and two other guests — were “kidnapped” from his residence. Munnur and the unnamed guests were staying at Reddy’s Delhi residence since 26 February.
Delhi Police sources claimed the Telangana Police are involved in the disappearance, but the latter have denied picking the men up, though they do say some of the four men were involved in an attempt-to-murder case back in their state.
DCP G. Sandeep of the Balanagar jurisdiction under Cyberabad Police Commissionerate told ThePrint that “the men appeared before the investigating officer” Wednesday and joined the probe.
Delhi Police’s initial investigation
On the basis of the complaint lodged by BJP leader Reddy’s personal assistant, a case of kidnapping was registered at South Avenue police station, New Delhi district, against unidentified persons.
Sources in the Delhi Police claimed that the unidentified persons are police personnel of Telangana, who, according to initial investigation, were looking for the men and then picked them up for questioning.
“No official confirmation has been received in this regard. Moreover, there has been no formal communication by the state’s police to the Delhi Police as of now,” a senior Delhi Police officer told ThePrint.
“Apart from the driver, the other three were guests of the former MP,” the officer said.
Delhi Police sources said they contacted Telangana Police to trace the whereabouts of the men, after initial investigation revealed that they were taken by policemen from Telangana for questioning.
Asked about the legal course of action in the case, considering the men were ‘kidnapped’ (according to the FIR lodged) by personnel of another state’s police, the Delhi Police officer said, “The investigation is in its nascent stage, (too early) to say anything at present.”
Telangana Police deny claims
The Telangana Police have, however, denied ‘picking up’ the four men from Reddy’s house. Multiple sources in the Telangana Police said cops from Petbasheerabad near Hyderabad are handling the matter.
DCP Sandeep of Balanagar zone, under which Petbasheerabad falls, denied that the four men were “picked up or abducted” by the Telangana Police.
“An attempt to murder case was filed on 25 February. Notices were served. Today (Wednesday) they themselves appeared before the IO and joined the investigation,” the DCP said.
Telangana Police sources said the case against the men was lodged by one Farooq. DCP Sandeep, however, refused to reveal further details about the case. This report will be updated when more information is received.
‘No official confirmation or communication’?
The Delhi Police also claimed that they had received no official confirmation or communication about cops from Telangana coming to Delhi in connection with the attempt to murder case.
However, sources in the Telangana Police said they communicated details of the attempt-to-murder charges Wednesday, after they received a call from a Delhi Police officer privy to the case. A Telangana Police officer, refusing to give further details, said not all the four men are involved in the attempt to murder case.
“We updated the Delhi Police Wednesday about all the four men. All four aren’t involved in the attempt to murder case,” the source in Telangana Police said.
Sources, however, did not clarify if cops travelled to Delhi physically to get the accused to Telangana.
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‘CCTV footage shows men in plain clothes’
According to sources in the Delhi Police, footage from CCTV cameras installed around the former MP’s house showed men in plain clothes entering and then the four men being taken away in two cars parked outside the gate.
Speaking to ThePrint, Reddy said he hasn’t received any information about the four men yet.
“We are relying on the Delhi Police for more information. Thapa has been my driver for the last eight years. Ravi Munnur is also from my native place in Mahabubnagar. He was a student leader and was part of the Telangana agitation,” Jithender Reddy said.
“Ravi Munnur had called up my PA on 26 February and had asked if he could stay in my house for two days. My PA informed me about it and I gave a go-ahead because this isn’t the first time that he is staying in my house. We have known each other for a long time,” said Reddy.
Reddy, however, said he doesn’t have information about the other two men who came with Munnur.
“The other two were Munnur’s guests. My PA also doesn’t know them.”
Asked about the attempt-to-murder case, Reddy claimed that while he is aware about the matter, “it is a bogus case” against “innocent people”. The former MP claimed that Thapa and Munnur are not involved in the case, adding that he has no information about the role of the other two men.
“I have information that the four reached Delhi on 25 February, but stayed at my place only from 26 February. We haven’t been able to get in touch with them as their phones have been seized by the police,” Reddy said.
“Even if they are involved in an attempt to murder case, the Telangana police should have taken assistance from the local police. They picked them up without an official notification,” Reddy said.
“The Delhi Police should have been contacted before they took this action. If they have done anything wrong, they would have anyway faced the law, but there has to be accountability. They cannot barge into a VIP zone, a former MP’s house like this,” the BJP leader said.
Reddy has also tweeted the CCTV footage in question.
With inputs from Rishika Sadam
(Edited by Saikat Niyogi)
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