HYDERABAD: The chargesheet filed by the Telangana Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in the cash-for-vote case on Tuesday claims that the person referred to as ‘Babu’, ‘Boss’ and ‘Naidu’ by the main accused is actually Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu .

The 25-page chargesheet, filed in the ACB principal special judge court, listed 39 witnesses and cited 319 documents as evidence and lists as accused only the four persons named in the FIR filed on May 31. More names, as well as the money trail, might figure in the supplementary chargesheet that the probe agency is expected to file shortly.

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“We mentioned the name of Chandrababu Naidu in the chargesheet after taking into consideration the details of conversations of the accused and also the statement of complainant Elvis Stephenson recorded by a magistrate under Section 164 of the CrPC,” ACB special public prosecutor V Surender Rao told TOI.

Stephenson, named as its key witness by the ACB, unequivocally mentioned in his statement that he was told by the accused that they have come with money to him only on the orders of Naidu, the special PP said.

According to the ACB, prime accused and TDP MLA A Revanth Reddy and Harry Sebastian, in course of their telephonic conversations with Stephenson, repeatedly referred to one ‘Boss’ and “Naidu.’ The investigative agency referred to the alleged conversation Naidu had with Stephenson from Sebastian’s phone and Revanth Reddy’s open claims that he was deputed by ‘Naidu’ for the job and that he would secure several favours for Stephenson if he voted for the TDP nominee.

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To sharpen the Naidu angle, the investigative agency extensively quoted from the conversations the accused had among themselves to lure Stephenson into voting for the TDP nominee in the MLC elections. It also cited the call data which it extracted from the phones of Stephenson and that of the accused. The ACB added that the forensic science lab has confirmed the authenticity of the call data.

The ACB narrated how the accused in the case - Revanth Reddy, Sabastian, Revanth aide Udaya Simha and Sebastian’s friend Jerusalem Mathaiah - held deliberations and negotiations with Stephenson to make him vote for the TDP. They lured him with Rs 5 crore in cash, of which Rs 50 lakh was delivered to Stephenson.

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This cash delivery was recorded with audio visual equipment by the ACB after Stephenson filed a formal complaint about the allurements he was receiving from the TDP leaders.

The probe agency, which also arrested Sathupalli TDP MLA Sandra Venkata Veeraiah in the case, reportedly did not elaborate his role in this chargesheet but dwelt at length on the role of Mathaiah in the case. All the accused were charged with several offences under IPC 120 (B) which deals with criminal conspiracies and the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The court will have to take this chargesheet into cognizance first in order to set the judicial process in motion.

