Don’t discharge Sebastian, ACB tells special court

Hyderabad: ACB investigating the cash-for-vote scam told the ACB special court in Hyderabad that Bishop Harry Sebastian had played an instrumental role in case and urged court not to discharge him from the case.

ACB additional superintendent

M Ramana Kumar

said Sebastian chose to remain silent when two other accused filed discharge pleas and he filed it now after the dismissal of two pleas of the accused. “This is done to delay the process before the trial court,” he said. Sebastian went to

MLA Elvis Stephenson

on the evening of May 31, 2015 along with then TDP leader A Revanth Reddy and tried to lure him to vote in favour of TDP nominee Vem Narender Reddy in the

MLC

elections which were to be held on the next day.

They offered Stephenson Rs 5 crore as a bribe for doing this and had even shown him Rs 50 lakh

cash

that was brought and placed before Stephenson on that day. Both Revanth and Sebastian negotiated with Stephenson asking him to vote for TDP nominee. Remaining Rs 4.5 crore was to be handed over to him after voting for TDP nominee. “It is a clear case of abetment to crime which is punishable under section 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988,” the counter said. Sebastian and Revanth approached Stephenson on May 30 itself and negotiated with him for a deal of Rs 2.5 crore. It was in this meet, the venue for three of them to meet at flat No. 204, Pushpa Nilayam in

South Lalaguda

of Secunderabad on May 31 was agreed upon.

It was Sebastian who increased the bribe amount from Rs 2.5 crore to Rs 5 crore. He asked Stephenson either to vote in favor of the TDP nominee or to abstain from voting. The ACB sent Sebastian’s mobile phone to the Forensic Science Laboratory which analysed the conversations he had with other accused.