Hyderabad: What began as a legal challenge in the high court has now snowballed into a criminal probe, with Banjara Hills police booking a case of extortion and criminal intimidation over an alleged demand of ₹3 crore to withdraw a public interest litigation. The case was registered against two accused following a complaint by K Venkateshwar Rao, son of former Rajya Sabha member K Keshava Rao. Police said the accused allegedly sought the money in exchange for withdrawing a PIL pending before the Telangana high court. The complaint was lodged by Rao, a resident of Road No. 12, Banjara Hills. According to him, one of the accused, Gadeela Raghuveer Reddy of Kondapaka in Siddipet district, had filed a writ petition in 2024 challenging the regularisation of Rao’s 1,000 square yard house and an adjacent 425 square yard plot owned by his sister, Kavitha Rao. After the high court issued notices to Rao in connection with the PIL on July 23, 2024, Raghuveer allegedly began contacting him repeatedly. Rao told police that the accused made calls from multiple mobile numbers, shared screenshots of newspaper reports related to the PIL, and hinted that the petition could be withdrawn for a consideration. The alleged pressure intensified in Dec and Jan. Rao stated that on Dec 15, 2025, Raghuveer made four WhatsApp calls and later, through messages sent on Jan 6, threatened to file additional writ petitions if the demand was not met. “Raghuveer demanded Rs 3 crore through an associate identified as Anvesh Reddy and offered to issue a no-objection certificate once the amount was delivered,” the complainant told police. Speculative PILsRao further described Raghuveer as a habitual litigant, alleging that he had earlier filed several speculative PILs to extort money from individuals. Based on the complaint, Banjara Hills police registered a case under sections 308(3) (putting a person in fear of injury to commit extortion), 351(2) (criminal intimidation), read with 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. “We are verifying the allegations against the accused by collecting evidence. Appropriate legal action will be initiated based on the findings of the initial probe,” Banjara Hills inspector S Suhasan said.
