The Telugu Desam Party MP from Andhra Pradesh Putta Mahesh Kumar and former Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLA Pilot Rohith Reddy were among several prominent people detained on Sunday following an alleged drug bust at a farmhouse on the outskirts of Hyderabad.
Mahesh Kumar (37), the youngest TDP MP representing Eluru in AP, and seven others were released hours later. As per the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, consumption and peddling of drugs are treated separately for the purpose of fixing the punishments.
“It has been found that the MP was a consumer, an act that attracts the provision for imprisonment of only up to one year. The Supreme Court has issued guidelines that anyone committing an offence attracting punishment of less than seven years should be granted bail immediately,” the Director of the Elite Action Group for Drug Law Enforcement (EAGLE) Sandeep Shandilya said.
An EAGLE team and special operations team (SOT) of the Cyberabad police jointly conducted a raid at a private party in Aziznagar, Moinabad, on Saturday night, after receiving information that narcotic substances were being consumed at the party.
“The EAGLE team found several political figures and businessmen allegedly consuming narcotics during the weekend party. In the rapid drug screening test conducted on 11 individuals at the party, six tested positive for drug consumption, including a former MLA and a sitting Lok Sabha member,” the superintendent of police Giridhar said.
According to an official, those who tested positive include Mahesh Kumar, Pilot Rohith Reddy, Rohith Reddy’s brother Ritesh Reddy and Delhi realtor Namith Mishra.
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In a statement on social media, the MP said, “I haven’t done anything wrong. I was invited for dinner by people staying in Hyderabad, and I didn’t do anything wrong there.”
The first-time MP from the NDA-ruled AP is from a family that has been associated with the TDP for decades. His father, Sudhakar, was an MLA from Mydukur Assembly constituency. Mahesh Kumar completed his B.Tech in Civil Engineering from JNTU, Hyderabad.
On Sunday, the TDP issued a notice to Mahesh, asking him to stay away from party programmes until a comprehensive report is received. He was also told to provide a written explanation on the allegations within five days, and that the party high command would take action based on the explanation.
The alleged party occurred at the same farmhouse where a controversial sting operation was conducted in October 2022, and three people were arrested for allegedly trying to lure BRS MLAs into joining the BJP.
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