In a setback for KCR, Telangana High Court transfers MLA poaching case to CBI

The Telangana High Court also disbanded the state-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT), which was probing the politically sensitive case.

The SIT has, however, said it would challenge the High Court order.

"Our argument was that the SIT cannot carry out an impartial inquiry,'' BJP leader and Advocate N Ramachander Rao said while welcoming the judgement.

"The Chief Minister said he had access to all the tapes recorded as part of a sting operation. He held a press conference and made the announcement. In such a circumstance, we felt the probe by SIT cannot be impartial," he added.

Five petitions were filed seeking a CBI probe, of which three were by the accused, one by the BJP, and a fifth by a lawyer. The BJP petition was struck down on technical grounds, Rao informed.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao had earlier called an unexpected press conference to screen a series of videos that he said supported his party's MLA poaching allegations against the BJP.

Presenting the four MLAs, who had supposedly thwarted an attempt to buy them out, KCR said he had more than an hour of hidden camera footage that would prove the charges against the BJP.

He had even played five minutes of the tapes at the news conference.

He had scaled up his attack on the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that "Delhi brokers" tried to bribe the four MLAs of his Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) party.

KCR had said the videos were evidence that a meeting at the farmhouse was held as a poaching attempt which was raided and that the brokers there mentioned Union Home Minister Amit Shah "20 times", and PM Modi "thrice" and referenced the change in government in Karnataka.

He had alleged the BJP was trying to topple governments in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan.

Tandur MLA Rohith Reddy, one of those who claimed to have been offered money to switch sides, Monday said there is an attempt to threaten and intimidate him using central agencies, even though it was so far a state-appointed Special Investigation Team that was probing the 'poachgate' case.

The BJP has denied allegations of poaching and said it was a drama "scripted, directed and produced" by the Chief Minister.

The BJP has also approached the court and the Election Commission.