Interpol notice: Telangan opposes to be party in KVP case

Hyderabad: Telangana high court has issued notices to the state while hearing a petition by former Rajya Sabha MP KVP Ramachander Rao in connection with a red corner notice issued against him in 2014 in an alleged bribery case pending against him in a US court.When the matter came up for hearing before a bench of Justice N Tukaramji on Tuesday, CBI counsel T Srujan Kumar Reddy informed the court that CBI has already filed counters in the matter as instructed by the court. The petitioner's counsel informed the court that a petition has been filed to implead Telangana in the petition.Counsel for the state took objection to the implead petition and opposed it. The counsel further urged the court to grant them time to file a detailed counter in the matter. Taking note of the submissions, the court adjourned the matter to June 17 allowing Telangana to file a counter in the matter.The red corner notice was issued by Interpol in 2014 following a provisional arrest warrant issued by a US court in 2013 in connection with an alleged bribery case related to a titanium project. The case was registered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation before the US district court for the Northern District of Illinois, which alleged that $18.5 million (153.6 crore) was paid as bribes to govt officials to secure approvals for the titanium project.Rao approached the then Andhra Pradesh high court in 2014 challenging the red corner notice. The court granted an interim stay in 2015, which has remained in force since then. It also directed CID not to take further action against him in connection with the notice. The petition, pending for over a decade, came up for hearing in March.