HYDERABAD:On a day when Telangana nominated MLA Elvis Stephenson reportedly named TDP chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu in his statement before a magistrate in the cash-for-vote case, sources in the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) — which has been entrusted with the task of analysing the authenticity of the audio and video evidence — told Express that it may take at least three weeks or even more to come up with a conclusive report.
The audio tape, currently with the FSL, contains, what is alleged to be a conversation between Stephenson and Naidu. Stephenson drove down to the third additional chief magistrate at the Nampally criminal courts complex on Wednesday, along with his daughter Jessica and Marga Taylor, his house owner.
It is learnt that Stephenson, more or less, narrated the same version of events that he had mentioned in his complaint to the Anti-Corruption Bureau. Asked if he had named Naidu, sources replied in the affirmative. Stephenson, many believe, named Naidu as the man he spoke with after the ‘deal’ was struck between him and TDP MLA A Revanth Reddy, who has since been arrested. The deal was for him to vote in favour of TDP nominee V Narender Reddy in the MLC elections in return for a payment of Rs 5 crore.
However, it appears that the suspense over whether Naidu will be served notices by the ACB may drag on for 20-25 days as the FSL has not even begun analysing the tapes. The question that is bothering many is whether Naidu will be asked to visit FSL for giving his voice sample. ‘’It is early to say whether he will be called for giving his voice sample. FSL is also not in a position, as of now, to confirm if publicly available recordings of his voice will help in analysing the voice in the audio,’’ sources said. Stephenson’s daughter and Margam Taylor also recorded their statements.