VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Tuesday ordered the Crime Investigation Department (CID) to provide adequate security to both the accused and witnesses in the sensational case involving the theft of 900 US dollars (worth approximately Rs 72,000) from the sacred Parakamani (hundi counting room) of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala. The court directed that the protection must continue until the completion of the investigation.
Justice Gannamaneni Ramakrishna Prasad, while hearing supplementary petitions filed by the CID and the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), expressed shock over the unnatural death of Y. Satish Kumar, the then Assistant Vigilance & Security Officer (AVSO) who had lodged the original complaint in the case.
The court granted permission to CID Director General Ravi Shankar Ayyannar’s request to allow lower-rung CID officers to participate in the investigation under his direct supervision. Similarly, the court permitted ACB officers of lower ranks to probe the disproportionate assets case against the prime accused, Ravikumar, under the supervision of the ACB Director General.
Earlier, the same single-judge bench had ordered a detailed CID probe into the dollar theft in Parakamani and an ACB investigation into the assets of Ravikumar, who was caught red-handed while committing the theft. Following those orders, both agencies had commenced their investigations. The next hearing is on December 2.